In My Own World
by LadieSamira
Summary: Natalie Walton is sick and tired of the "glamorous" life, and feels like noone truly understands her. Paul also feels misunderstood. When these two meet, sparks fly but will Paul's "condition" and Natalie's background threaten their relationship?
1. Chapter 1

God has answered my prayers. I am _finally _leaving this place. No more scorching sun. No more long hours in traffic. No more worried of hurricanes. And most of all, no more snotty neighbors who only had their minds set on when the new Marc Jacob heels would come out. I was sick and tired of Miami, Florida. Sick and tired of the rich kids who spent their days yelling at their parents for money, and spending it recklessly, and then spent their evenings and night partying at exclusive clubs and getting drunk. I was never one of those kids, although my parents wouldn't have care. Then again, my parents wouldn't have cared if I jumped off a bridge; as long as I was in this seasons fashion and that I did it "gracefully", what ever the hell that means. Sometimes I wonder if my parents even care about me. The only affection they show is the fake smiles plastered on their faces when we pose for family photos or shots for the local newspaper. My parents were practically celebrities around here, and I hated every second of it. That's why I was jumping with joy when I was told my family would be moving to a tiny town in Washington State, can't remember the name. Hopefully being away from all these designer shops, yacht shows, and stuck up people, will open up their minds a little and make them realize their daughter needs real actual **parents**. The "Glamorous" life was taking a toll on me. Being Natalie Walton was not easy. Everyone expected me to be like my parents. Well sorry if I find better use for money than 500 and 900 shoes. And trust me, I have way better things to do than attend gala after gala after gala. Seriously, I want to get down on my knees and thank God for getting me out of here.

As I looked around, I realized I actually did have room to get down on my knees. I was currently seated in a first class seat on my way to Forks, Washington. ( I still don't understand where the name came from). My Aunt Stacy, my moms older sister, had fallen ill and needed help raising her kids. Her husband, my Uncle Phil, has passed away a couple of years ago. My mom could never deny her older sister and made plans for us to move there immediately. My dad would come to help us settle down then return to Miami to continue managing his computer software company, Walton Enterprises. So here I sat, trying to figure out what my parents would do if I got out of my seat and starting kissing the ground. _Ahhh they'd probably have a heart attack,_ I chuckled to myself. Glancing out the window, I caught a glimpse of dark heavy clouds. _Hmmm…rain on my arrival day. Is this Forks way of welcoming me? _I kept my thoughts to myself the whole way. Even after we got off the plane, were greeted by my oldest cousin, Brian, and even as we each personally greeted my aunt at their small but cozy home in the middle of Forks. It wasn't until I saw my aunts only daughter and my favorite family member that I exploded.

" Sophia!!"

"Natalie!!"

And I ran into the arms of the one person who truly understood me.

* * *

A.N So here's the first chapter to my first story. I have such an awesome plot ready for this story and I honestly can't wait to write it. I'm already in the middle of Chapterr Two, so please please please REVIEW. I like to know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong.

Thank You!


	2. Chapter 2

"We have so much catching up to do

"We have so much catching up to do!" Sophia squealed as we sat on her bed. I have never in my life felt as excited as I was now. Sophia and I had been best friends ever since we were young girls. My parents would always fly her or her brother over to our place for the summer or winter break. I quickly found out I could trust her with a lot of my secrets and we instantly became close. She knew more about me than anyone else and vice versa

"I know! I can't even tell you how happy I am to leave that place" I shuddered at the thought of going back to my hometown and having to attend that idiotic prestigious school my parents had enrolled me in.

"I don't know why you complain so much. Awesome clothes, amazing rides and cute guys. It doesn't get much better than that." She teased, she knew just as much as I did about why I hated that place. I never received love. I was never appreciated. It was like I had no reason to be there. But I was going to change this now; I vowed to make a name for myself here. People were going to respect me for who I was not because of who my parents were.

"Uh Huh, you wouldn't be saying that if you actually lived it. You'd be like a zombie. Same thing everyday"

I watched her laugh at me, she was so carefree. I wanted to be like that. We continued chatting throughout the afternoon until my parents called me down. We were off to go see our new home. I dragged Sophie along with me and slipped into the backseat of my parents Mercedes Benz. I listened attentively as Soph pointed out the scenery as we drove by. Forks seemed like a small town and everyone knew everyone.

"I'll introduce you to everyone tomorrow, I've already told them your coming" She promised as we exited the car and looked up at my house, and when I say looked up, I mean literally _looked_ _up_! There was a path and a stairway that led up to the entrance to the house…or should I say **mansion. **Why was I surprised? This was so like my parents. We could be living in the freakin Artic and they would have an igloo mansion made. This was their way of letting the folks of Forks that they were _loaded. _I felt myself start to get angry, I was planning on fitting in and not letting anyone know about our money, but there was no way I could do that when I lived in a place like this.

"Mom, Dad. Seriously, was this necessary?" I gritted my teeth. I was expecting Sophia to back me up, but I realized she was climbing the set of stairs that led up to the house, with a look of awe on her face. I sighed and watched as my parents completely ignored me and followed her, explaining to her how the house had been built just for them. I slowly dragged myself, following them.

Although I didn't admit out loud, I thought the house was pretty nice. It had an Ancient France feel to it, and the detailing was amazing. Sophia was having the time of her life as she followed my mom around like a lost puppy, swallowing every detail of the house. The excitement was evident in her eyes, and I just laughed to myself. I ran up the stairs all the way to the 3rd floor. I had already claimed this floor as my own. There was one bedroom on it and a sitting room plus a huge balcony over looking the pool. Yup, my parents had overdone it but there was nothing I could do about it.

"You are the luckiest bitch in the world!" Sophia said as we examined the view from my balcony.

"Yeah, Yeah. Whatever" I murmured back. I wanted to get out of this house. It reminded me of Florida and that was the last thing I needed.

"You wanna go out or something? Show me around" I was ready to beg, anything to get me out of here.

Surprisingly, she agreed, "Sure, you wanna get some dinner? I'm starving." I quickly agreed and we headed downstairs.

"Me and Soph are going out to dinner, I'm taking moms car!" I yelled out as I grabbed my mom's car keys. We rushed towards the car garage and jumped into my moms Audi A5. My parents had been smart enough to have their cars sent over here. My own car was still in the works, in my dads words it was a "one of a kind"

I focused on the directions Soph was giving me and I managed to get us to a small restaurant that wasn't far from my place.

"This is where everyone hangs out," She explained as we stepped inside. I was instantly surprised by the bustling noises and the relaxing carefree atmosphere. Soph led us to a back table, and I sat down slowly, still taking in everything. I saw a group of teenage boys not far from us, they were so engrossed in their food that they probably wouldn't have noticed me staring, not that I was or anything. I tore my eyes away from them to scan the packed place. The place was mostly filled with teenagers, except for a couple that were most likely in their 20's.

I turned back to Sophia to find her smiling at me.

"What?"  
"Nothing….," She shook her head. "You just seem so surprised, and so new to this."

"Well hello, my parents would disown me if I stepped into a place like this" I was serious, my parents would freak when they found out we were here. Supposedly, it was bad for our image.

"Can I take your order?" A blonde haired male waiter came up to us.

"I'll take a burger and fries" Soph batted her lashes and flashed him a smile. I watched as a small blush appeared on the young aged waiters face. _Awwww_

"I'll have the same" He quickly scribbled down our orders and hurried off

Soph started telling me about her school which was located in an area in Forks called La Push. She told me about everyone I needed to know about, from her close friend Tiffany to the Native boys who ruled the school. By the time our food came around, I was too excited to eat. I could wait till the next day. I was ready to start a new chapter in my life. I scanned the restaurant once more as Soph ate. And just like before, my eyes fell on the group of boys that were sitting nearby us. I closely examined them and noticed they were **huge! **They looked tall. All were about 6 feet, and some were more. They all had muscles as well; although they were sitting I could tell they were lean and fit. I scanned them all individually but one of them held my gaze the longest. He was sitting the farthest away, and he was one of the few that were still eating. He looked unhappy and bored. His skin tone was sort of an olive-ish color, and his hair was pitch black. His neck was lean and I could easily see where his shoulder muscles started. In plain simple words, he was gorgeous, beautiful…I don't know what to call a man who looked like that. I wanted to keep staring but one of his friends at the table noticed me checking him out and smirked. I quickly snapped my head away and looked down at my nails. I kept my head this way until Soph was finished eating and we were ready to go. I threw a few bills down, enough to leave a good tip and we rushed off. I dropped Soph off at her place, promising to see her first thing in the morning so we could go to school together, then I made my way home

The image of that exotic male beauty stayed in my head as I prepared for bed and even as I slept. As I awoke the next day, the butterflies in my stomach told me, today was gonna be a day I wouldn't forget.


	3. Chapter 3

Preparing for school was an easy task, shower, smear some gel onto my curls and an outfit of jeans and a light sweater, soon I was ready

I woke up pretty early the next morning, partly because my body was still in Florida time. I quickly brushed my teeth, changed into some sweats and did about 2 laps around the house, which ending up taking longer than I expected 'cause this house is freakin huge. I was always an active person, and I love jogging and running. It's my way of relieving stress. Hopefully, I'll find a nice park or beach that I can do my daily jogs. As soon as my run was over, I was in the shower. I used my favorite strawberry body soap. I didn't want to stink. I jumped out of the shower, lotioned my body. Quickly smearing some gel on to my curls, I fluffed my hair and applied light lip-gloss. Heading back into my room, I threw on a pair of fitted jeans and a light red sweater. I checked the mirror once more, and then grabbed my book bag and my mom's car keys.

"I'm going to school!" I yelled out to no one in particular and I rushed to go pick up Soph. I found her outside her house waiting for me.

"You look hot" She complimented as she stepped inside.

"Right back at you babe" I cheesed. It was true. She had on a denim knee length skirt and a light brown sweater. Her naturally straight hair was let down and went up to her shoulders. She really looked good.

She told me more about her school, telling me which teachers to avoid and which to be really friendly to. We pulled up to the high school and there were teenagers **everywhere. **I found myself nervous as I parked my car, which was receiving a lot of stares. I followed Sophia as she led me to the office to get my schedule and lock. We examined each others classes and realized we had English and P.E together after lunch. I couldn't help but notice all the stares I was receiving as Soph showed me where my first class was located.

"Don't worry about them; it's just that everyone knows everyone here, so it's kind of surprising to see a new kid. I mean who would want to move to Forks?"  
"I would!" I defended as we arrived at my first class, Chemistry.

"I'll see you at lunch ok?" She said as she hurried off to her own class. Stepping inside the room, I was thankful that it wasn't full…._yet. _I found a spot in the front of the class and waited for class to begin. People started pouring in, each one would give me a look-over, and I felt myself wishing I could disappear. But it got worse quick. In walked two huge boys, I surprised how they managed to fit through the door. They were so tall. Immediately, I recognized them from the diner last night, in fact one of them was the guy who had caught me staring at his friend. Just like everyone else, they looked me over. One of them stared me right in the eye and I suddenly felt the need to disappear or turn invisible. He must of recognized me from last night because he smirked. He took a seat behind me, and called over the boy who had come in with him

"Quil, get over here. This is gonna be our new spot" He smirked up at me, and I felt myself blush.

Quil, who had changed seats pretty quickly, started muttering something under his breath, and the other boy just laughed at him. I kept my head down the whole time, feeling very intimidating.

"Hey…your gonna get a neck cramp like that" I heard him say behind me and I slowly raised my head.

"You must be the new girl….I'm Jared" He introduced himself. I turned around to find them both smiling at me. I drew a deep breath and introduced myself.

"I'm Natalie. Nice to meet you guys." Playing the friendly card always works.

"You friends with Sophia? I saw you with her last night." He asked.

"Yea, she's my best friend…not to mention my cousin"

"Really, I would have never guessed."  
"You look really familiar, are you sure we haven't met before?" Quil interrupted.

I thought back, trying to remember if I had seen Quil before, but I came up with nothing.

"No, I'm pretty sure we haven't. Maybe you've seen someone who looks like me" I offered that as an explanation.

"Dude, all those hours on the computer must be messing with you head" Jared nudged his arm.

I gulped.

_Uh Oh, computer?_

_He could be playing computer games…_

_But yea, who creates those computer games? I'm pretty sure there's a picture of me on dad's site_

_Stop being paranoid_

_Oh, I think I passed that. I'm having an argument with myself._

_Just shut up._

_You can't tell me to shut up…I own you!_

I snapped out of my internal argument to find Jared and Quil staring at me with confused looks on their faces. _Great, they must think I'm a freak. _I gave them a half smile and turned back to face the front. The teacher walked in that moment and class began. As soon as the class was over, I grabbed my bag and made a beeline for the door.

"In a rush?" Jared somehow ended up beside me; with Quil on is other side.

"I don't wanna be late for next class, and knowing me, it'll take forever to find it."

"We can help" Quil offered. "Show me your schedule"

He scanned it and grinned at me. "We have that class together, c'mon"

He led me away as I waved to Jared.

"So, where are you from? Obviously you're not from around here" He questioned

"Miami, Florida" I answered. I waited for the outburst. 3..2…1…

"Serious?? That's crazy. Why in the world would you leave **Miami** to come to Forks?

"To help out my aunt. Family comes first" I explained. I needed to steer this conversation in a different path. I didn't want to give away too much info.

"Have you lived in Forks your whole life?"

"I live in a section of Forks called La Push, you'll have to come check it out sometime" He offered

Quil was sweet, very sweet. And as we got to know each other on the way to class and even through class, I realized he was best friend material. By the time lunch rolled around, I'd created a new nickname for Quil, Q-Q, and he had developed a one for me, Natty.

One thing I quickly learned about him was that everyone knew him. I tried to count how many people called out "Hey Quil" to him or how many girls erupted into a fit of giggles when he walked by them. It was the same case when we walked into the cafeteria. I wonder if he was one of the Native guys Sophia said she would introduce me to. Sophia! Shoot, I forgot about her.

"Quil, I have to go find my cousin. I'm eating lunch with her" I tried to ignore the stares I was getting from other students as Quil led me to a table full of guys.

" She can come eat with us, don't worry about it" He sat me down in between him and a dark skinned, long hair boy who was beyond tall.

"Guys, this is Natalie, she just moved here from Miami. Nat, this is Embry, Collin, Paul, you already know Jarred, Kim, and Jacob"

"You can call me Jake" The guy next to me offered.

They all said hi and welcomed me to Forks. They seemed like nice guys and we instantly started a conversation about the weather over here compared to Florida.

I was so engrossed in the convo that I didn't notice Sophia squeeze in between me and Jake.

" I see you met the crew" She nodded her head towards the guys.

"Yea I did" I lowered my voice to a whisper, "Well except for Paul. He hasn't look up since I sat down"

"Give him time" she whispered back.

We all continued our previous convo. Lunch seemed uneventful, that was right until the bell rang. Everyone made a move to get up, Paul finally lifted his head and our eye caught each other. He held my gaze intensely. I felt vulnerable yet strong. His dark chocolate eyes refused to leave mine and I was prisoner to them until he looked away. In a blink of an eye, he was trembling and Jacob and Jarred were at his side.

"Paul, PAUL! Snap out of it!" Jarred had grabbed his arm and was trying to lead him out of the cafeteria. By now, there was a crowd by the exit doors watching our table. I could hear the murmurs and gasps and Embry must have heard it too, cause he turned to them and yelled.

"This isn't a freak show, go on with you lives!!" I didn't have to turn around to know that they were all scattering away. My eyes were still fixed on Paul as Jacob had grabbed his other arm and helped lead him towards the exit.

Something snapped inside of me as I saw Paul refuse to leave. It was like a sense of anger. I was angry at myself, had I done something to make him like this? Why wasn't I helping him calm down? Was he having a panic attack? The normal person would have stayed frozen in shock, but something pulled me towards Paul. I felt the need to comfort him, to put my hands on his cheek and sooth him. (That was if I could reach his cheek).

I pulled myself out of my frozen state and made a quick move towards Paul, but not quick enough. In an instant, Embry and Quil both had a hold on me and Sophia gasped.

I gaped at them only to see their frightened expressions.

"Let go of me!" I ordered. I needed to get to Paul. I had to.

"Nat, you don't know what your getting yourself into" Quil said through gritted teeth.

Paul, Jacob and Jarred just stopped their movements and looked my way, but I only saw Paul. Once again, we were locked in an intense eye gaze. I was afraid he'd start trembling again, I made another move towards him but both grips on my arms tightened and I let out a soft "ow!" as a sting of pain went through me.

3 things happened at that moment. Quil and Embry let go of me and jumped back all within a second, Paul pulled himself away from Jacob and Jarred and ran towards me, and a teacher, or maybe it was the principal entered the cafeteria.

Someone please pinch me and tell me this is a dream…


	4. Chapter 4

In the blink of an eye, Paul was in front of me, and when I say in front of me, I mean we were chest to chest, (in my case it was chest to face). I looked up at his face to find a worried expression.

"Are you ok?" Aw. He was hot _and_ caring. Could he get any better?  
"Yeah…But I think we should all be worried about you."

"You shouldn't be worried about me. I'm not the one who had two idiots trying to cut off my blood circulation." He looked over me and glared at Quil and Embry.

They muttered "Sorry" to me but I wasn't focused on them. Paul was incredibly hot when his jaw was clenched and his eyes were glaring. He put a whole new meaning to "Sexy when you're mad".

I wonder what it would be like to touch his face…run my hand across his cheek and towards his jaw. Maybe trace his lips…then actually kiss them…

I quickly blushed when I realized Paul was watching me. Why was I always getting caught like this?

"So, um, why were you shaking back there?" I was hoping for my sake, that this would make him forget that he had just caught me daydreaming about his oh so kissable lips.

"That was…that was nothing. Seriously" He seemed nervous and was at lack of an excuse. Someone please explain to me why I find this adorable. Before I could give him a response, a teacher or maybe it was the principal approached us.

"Is there a problem here?" His voice was hard and rough and demanded attention. He was staring at Paul.

"No sir, we were just heading to class." He backed away from me and Sophia instantly took my side.

"Well, then you better hurry. Classes begin soon. And Mr.Veror" Paul turned back to him "No more funny business understood?"

Paul gave a simple nod and walked away with Jarred and Jacob .Quil and Embry right behind me.

Soph and I were at a slower pace than them, and I was thankful for that. I had to digest what had just happened. Was this normal behavior for Paul? Did this type of thing happen everyday? I needed answers.

"That was odd" Soph broke the silence, she seemed to be in deep thought as well. "I wonder what's wrong with Paul"

"You mean, that wasn't an everyday thing?" God please help me.

"Girl, if that was an everyday thing, then the boy would need to be hospitalized." She thought for a second. "But he does have an anger issue. I just don't understand why looking at you could make him mad like that."

Well, there's goes my chances with him. The dude obviously has something against me….I think.

I followed Sophia into our next class and took a seat next to her, which left one empty seat on the other side of me. I knew I would be zoning out, there was no way possible I would pay attention when Paul was on my mind. I felt movement next to me and I looked to see the object of my thoughts slip into the once empty seat.

"Hey Natalie" He shot me a grin. _Breath Nat, Breath_.

"Uh, Hi" _Seriously, Nat, get a hold of yourself._

Sophia was pretending to check her nails for dirt but I knew she was listening to us.

"Look, I wanna apologize for what happened earlier. I hope I didn't scare you" He said nervously.

_Scare me? That was the last thing you did. No hunnie, you made me fall for you._

"You didn't scare me, but you did have me worried." The confused look on his face was priceless. "You were shaking like crazy; I don't think that's healthy."

"I'm used to it. I don't exactly have the best self-control" _You're lucky I do, or we'd both be on this desk…clothes flying…lips locked._

My cheeks flushed from the dirty thought and I lowered my gaze.

"So uh, you're new in town right?" I simply nodded, not trusting myself to look talk. "Where are you from?" I gave him the answer I'd given everyone else and waited for the outburst. It never came

"That's got to be a tough change for you. How are you liking it here so far?" I gaped at him; this was not the response I was expecting. _See, I knew he was special._

"Actually, it was a much needed change. I was getting sick and tired of that place" The priceless confused look was back on his face.

"Why?"

"Let's just say I couldn't relate to anyone there"

He simply nodded his head and took a minute to study my face.

"Your really pretty, no, scratch that, you're beautiful" My eyes widened and a deep blush fell across my cheeks. Before I could think of a response I heard someone choke and turned to see Sophia coughing, noticing the water bottle in her hand I quickly patted her back.

'I'm fine, it's ok" She reassured. She nodded her head towards Paul who looked slightly amused.

I opened my mouth to say something but before I could, I was interrupted once again. This time by the teacher, who was starting class. Throughout the whole period, I sneaked glances at Paul and most of the time I'd find him looking back at me. It baffled me, it was like mixed messages. Did he like me? He had called me beautiful, but he was probably trying to be friendly, to make up for the lunch incident. The bell rang, and Sophia, whom I'd forgotten about, jumped out her seat.

"Nat, I have to go, um, meet someone. I'm sure Paul can walk you to class." She flashed me a sneaky grin and headed out of the class.

I didn't know whether to kill her or thank her.

"You heard the girl, I'm walking you to class. Lets go" He lead me out of the room and we entered the busy hallway. He asked for my schedule and I willingly handed it to him. Turned out we had the next class together too. What a way to test my self control. I didn't know if I could manage another class with him without hurling myself at him.

"Have you seen much of Forks yet?" We turned a corner in the hall and kept walking, I didn't notice how close we were until my arm brushed against him. The electric shock that passed through me was exhilarating.

"No, not much. I landed here yesterday." He stopped and led me into an already full classroom.

"I could show you around, if you want." He looked so hopeful that my insides squirmed.

"I'd like that." I couldn't stop the stupid grin from covering my face.

By the time we'd taken our seats, we had started a game of 20 Questions. We discovered we had the same favorite movie, the 6th Sense. He asked me everything and anything. My favorite color, band, song, flower, place. I surprised him with my knowledge of cars when he asked me my favorite vehicle. We debated on different car models, and different features. I didn't realize how open I was being with him until he asked me about my parents. That's when I started to get nervous.

"So what do your parents do? Is one of them a mechanic? Maybe that's why your so car-smart." He chuckled.

I fidgeted with my hands before answering. "No, um...my dads into um...Retail." _**Damn!**_

He obviously didn't believe me. "What about your mom?"

That one was easy. "She's an interior designer."

He let it drop and we continued the game until class began. Just as I had suspected, I couldn't focus, not when my arm was brushing against him. Not when he kept sneaking looks at me. And especially not when all I could think about was him. I was thankful to hear the bell ring, signaling the end of the class and the end of the day. My new obvious crush was right next to me as I exited the class.

"Listen, what are you doing this Friday?" We had reached my locker and he leaning against the locker next to mine waiting for me

"I don't know, like I said I'm new here, so I've got no plans" I slipped my books into my bag and shut my locker.

"How about I show you around town then? We can cruise around, and then go for a dinner and a movie."

My heart skipped a beat. Was he asking me out? Only one way to find out.

"Are you asking me out?" My bag was on my shoulder and my arms were crossed, waiting for an answer.

"Are you saying yes?" Ooh, he was smooth. He shot me grin and I felt myself melt.

"Yup" He formed a full smile and was about to say something but Jared, Quil and Soph came up to us.

"Ayyy! Wassup Natty?" I giggled as Quil pulled me into a one arm hug

"You seemed to have disappeared Q-Q. Were you avoiding me?" Pretending to push him away.

"Aww, come one Nat, you know I love you, I'd never avoid you" He pulled his large arms around for a full hug. I had no reason but to go with it. We were both laughing when we pulled away from each other. But Paul was opposite of that. As soon as I pulled away from Quil, Paul had him against a locker by his shirt. They were face to face and Paul was fuming.

"Don't fucking touch her again or I swear I'll snap your neck like those leeches" Leeches? _Uh, Confusion anyone?_

Paul pressed him harder against the locker and I knew there was going to be a dent.

"Shit! Paul, get a grip of yourself." Jared was trying to get him off Quil, and was having a hard time. I knew I had to do something.

Placing my hand on Paul's arm, I tugged gently. "Please Paul, let go of him. He didn't do anything."

He instantly released Quil, who by the way was smiling like a fool, and turned to me. He was still angry, I could tell, but he was better than before. I didn't understand why he attacked Quil in the first place. He hadn't said anything to him.

_But he did to you_, a voice inside of my head insisted.

_So what, what's that got to do with him?_

_He likes you idiot! He doesn't like the fact that another man was saying they loved you and touching you._

Could that be it? Could Paul feel that way about me? The thought made my heart jumped. I liked the idea of Paul being protective of me but I had to be sure he wanted me. I didn't know how I would find out for good, but I would…somehow.

Jared led Quil away after they said bye. Soph offered to meet me by the car, probably wanting to give me some alone time with Paul.

"Sorry about that, that's proof I've got bad self control."

"Its ok, you're pretty cute when you're mad, so that makes up for it' _Whoa. Where did that come from?_

He smirked at me. "Just cute? Eh?"

I smirked right back. "Yea, just cute. Puppy cute actually."

He stiffened for a second, and then relaxed.

"Most girls would say I'm a whole lot more than puppy cute"

Do they really? I guess I'm not the only one who's noticed his amazing looks.

"Yea well, I'm not like most girls" I winked at him, then turned around and made my way to the car.

I have a feeling I'm going to like it here at Forks


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N: Thanks for the feedback and the reviews :)**

**Just a lil note, Reviews make me very happy..the more reviews, the quicker and longer the update **

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The next couple of days had been a whirlpool. I'd become quick friends with the boys, (Jared, Collin, Embry, Quil and Jacob). I'd securely labeled Jared and Jacob as my new "big" brothers, although there was barely an age difference between us. Collin, Embry and Quil had earned themselves a top spot as my new best friends and me and Soph were constantly with them. Whenever we weren't hanging out with them, we were having an all out party for two at my house. My dad had already gone back to Miami and my mom spent the majority of her time either mingling with other socialites in the town or at Sophia's house. This left me and my favorite cousin to raid the always packed fridge, have crazy pillow fights and blare our music. I'd met a lot of girls at school, and most seemed nice, but I wasn't ready for any of them to see my home and guess my secret.

My time with Paul increased and I wasn't complaining. I felt carefree and at ease whenever I was in his presence. I could be open with him and he was just as open with me. Although I was keeping a major secret from him, I knew it wouldn't be long before he knew. Our date on Friday was nearing, in fact it was tomorrow and I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited.

My mind was still thinking about my plans for the next day, that I didn't notice Jared and Quil take their seats next to me. It wasn't until I felt Quil place a kiss on my cheek that I snapped out of my thoughts.

"Careful there Quil, you don't want Paul jumping you again" Jared laughed.

Paul's protectiveness was something I wasn't used to yet. He was constantly giving death glares to any guy who dared to look at me for more than 10 seconds. It didn't help that Quil was constantly up for a good fight. I can't even count how many times Jacob, Jared and I held Paul back from pounding Quil, and as crazy as it seems, Quil loved irritating Paul. I blushed when Jared called me "Paul's weakness." Although I liked the idea, I knew it couldn't be true, we knew each other for less than a week, and feelings don't develop that fast. _Except yours_, my subconscious teased me. It was true, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't falling for Paul, I was attracted to everything about him. He was beyond sweet; he always held the door for me and was always patient with me whenever I forget my locker combo. At the same time, he could turn around and leave any guy who looked at me wrong bruised. His size and muscles gave him an advantage against other guys, and I'm sure they all knew it by now. But it was in those arms that I found the most comfort it. There would be times when we'd walk through the hall and he would randomly slip his arm around me and on my shoulder. Having him hold me like that, gave me a sense of security that no one else could.

The day dragged on treacherously slow, all I wanted was for the last bell to ring so I could rush home and get ready for my date. I dragged myself to the cafeteria and went straight to our table; I wasn't in the mood to stand in a line for a food. I'd just take something off one of the guy's tray, they always overfilled anyways. Just as I suspected, they showed up with overflowing trays of food and sat down. I grabbed a slice of pizza off Paul's plate and cheesed at him before taking a bite. He gave me a light nudge on the side of my stomach, causing me to giggle before he starting eating. Lunch passed by quickly and I soon found myself exiting the cafeteria with Soph. We were in the hallway when I felt someone grab my arm; I turned around to see Paul.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked.

"We have the next class together, can't we talk in there?" I questioned. He shook his head and released my arm and reached for my hand instead, entwining mine with his. I felt a blush on my cheeks as he led me away. Students in the hall gave curious looks, especially the girls. I knew we were going to be the gossip of the afternoon. He led me to a secluded corner in the hall. Letting go of my hand, he leaned me against a wall. One of his arms was up against the wall, right above me head and he was leaning slightly towards me. With his free arm he reached for hand once again, and they entwined once more. My heart was beating abnormally, but I could care less. We stayed like that for a good 30 seconds, just watching each other. He finally broke the silence.

"I have to leave" He said, watching me carefully. I felt a dull ache at his words.

"What do you mean?"

"Something came up at home, so I'm skipping the last two classes."

"Oh. I hope it's not too bad"

He looked a little hesitant for a moment, but shook it off quickly.

"Me too, so I'll see you at 5 right?" He asked nervously. It was adorable that this guy, 6 feet of hotness and sexiness, was nervous about our date. I felt my stomach jump with excitement about our plans later.

"Yea, I'd better see you at 5" I joked, giving his hand a little squeeze and we smiled at each other. I desperately wanted to close the gap between us and kiss him but I didn't want to come across "easy" either. I gave him the directions to my house and he gave me his number, in case he couldn't fine it. He led me back to class and let go of my hand. Surprisingly the teacher hadn't started the day's lesson yet, and I managed to slip in unnoticed. I waved to Paul and took my seat next to a grinning Sophia.

"What was that all about" She whispered. Our teacher had just entered the class.

"He has to leave, something happened at his place and he needs to check it out"

"Oh,"

She dropped it and we forced ourselves to pay attention to the lesson. I was so absorbed in my thoughts that the afternoon classed passed right by. I didn't waste any time getting home. Checking my clock, I realized I still had a good 2 hours before Paul was due to pick me up. I changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and went for a run down my street and back up. By the time I was back, it was 4 and I jumped in the shower…

40 minutes later, I placed the finishing touches on my hair and grabbed my small purse. I was never the type to take my appearances too seriously, but this was different. I want to look my best for Paul, at all times. I sat on my bed and flipped through a magazine as I waited patiently for my date. I glanced at the clock every few minutes, worrying growing in the pit of my stomach after the first 30 minutes passed.

5:10, 5:25, 5:40. Still no show.

Maybe something had happened, a family emergency maybe. Or he could have gotten sick.

_But he would have called and let me know._

I knew what I was dreading to admit, but I wasn't giving up yet.

By the time 6:30 came around, I'd given up. My fears were true. He had stood me up.

Looking in the mirror, I examined my reflection. I felt silly, and used. I had gotten all worked up for nothing. He was a good actor, a great actor. He had led to believe he actually liked me, and like an idiot I'd believe it all. Hot tears started to flood my eyes as I threw myself on my bed. I kept my phone close, keeping the slightest hope that he would call, tell me his car had broken down and that he was on his way. But no phone call came. And no Paul showed up. I went to bed that night with an ache in my heart and anger at the man I'd fallen so deep for.

I awoke the next morning feeling glum and miserable. My head ached and my heart was sore but other than that, I was _just fine. _I spent the majority of the morning cleaning up my room, bathroom and the rest of the 3rd floor. I was expecting Sophia to come by in a bit, we had plans for lunch. Personally, I was not up for an outing, but I knew she would never let me stay inside and mope the whole time. A little fresh air never hurt anyone did it?

As soon as I was convinced my part of the house was in perfect shape, I jumped in the shower. After half an hour, I was ready, and just in time too. The front door opened downstairs and Sophia let herself in.

"Natalie!" She yelled out as she walked up the stairs.

"My room!" I answered back.

She walked into my room and flopped herself down on the bed next to me. The excitement was evident in her eyes as she clapped her hands together.

"So….how was the date? Tell me everything!" She squealed. I felt my heart squeeze in pain as I remember the events of the night before.

"The date didn't happen" I mumbled. I stared down at my nails, hoping she wouldn't see the expression on my face.

"What do you mean it didn't happen? Did you guys stay in instead?" God! Why couldn't she understand I didn't wanna spell it out?

"No! He didn't show up ok? He stood me up. And I am **NOT** surprised" I was off the bed and yelling by now. "Why should I expect my luck with guys to change now? Alan asked me out and pretended to date me, just for a bet, Daniel cheated on me, and Josh? Josh fooled me enough that I gave him my fucking virginity and he left the very next morning." I had hot tears streaming down my face as I recapped my unsuccessful love life. I should have stopped yelling at this point, Sophia's eyes were wide open and her mouth was in the shape of a small "O", but I kept going.  
"So tell me, why should Paul be any different? I should have known he wouldn't like a girl like me. He was probably was messing with my head as a way to pass time," I felt Sophia's arms wrap around me and I cried into her shoulder. It wasn't fair, it seriously wasn't. Why was I so vulnerable to heart break? Why was I always being played like this? All the pain I held in from all the previous relationships exploded and a bit of me was thankful to have let that all out. I hugged Sophia back and we stayed like that until my breathing returned to normal. We sat back down on the bed and she wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

"I'm so sorry Nat, each and every one of those guys are idiots. Idiots that can't recognize an awesome girl, they should be the ones crying, not you. It's their loss. They know what they did, and they'll end up living with regret for the rest of their lives." She wiped the last few tears from my eyes and we hugged once more. "Don't even bother worrying about Paul; he missed out on a would-be great date with you. Just ignore his ass." Yea, right, I could never ignore him. Just looking at him made me weak; there was no way I could not reply if he talked to me. But I would try my damn best to let him know I was mad and there was likely chance I wouldn't forgive him for standing me up.

"Let's get you out of here" Soph tugged me off the bed and led me to the washroom. "Wash your face and let's head out." Not wanting to argue with her, I did as she said and we were instantly on the road. I let her drive since I wasn't in the mood to be taking directions.

"I know this awesome place in La Push, they have the best ice cream in Forks" Soph offered, and I couldn't help but laugh at her.

"Ice cream Soph? I'm not going through a breakup. Any ways, does eating ice cream actually help?" I questioned. I would always go for a run if I had boy troubles, it was my personal solution.

She shrugged and pulled up to decent sized restaurant, the big sign of the front read "Mama Mia". _Wonder if it's Italian or Greek_, I thought.

Stepping inside I was hit with an aroma that smelled like food mixed with sweat. Not a good combination. We quickly grabbed a table by the door and waited on a waiter. The restaurant was filled once again, with teenagers. This time I was able to recognize a lot of them from school. I waved at a few people, and then turned to look outside. The day was dark and cloudy. _Just to fit my mood_, I thought. I felt someone nudge my foot, and looked up to see Soph handing me a menu. I stared at the Italian dishes, and debated on whether I should settle for a soup or a salad. Before I could decide, Soph let out a gasp and I looked up to see what had caused that sound. I wish I hadn't. In walked Paul, along with Jacob and a Native girl I didn't recognize. He had his hands in his pockets and the Native girl had one her arms looped around his. She was talking to him while he stared down at the ground. I felt a stab of pain in my heart as I looked at them. Was that who he had ditched me for yesterday? This was the reason he hadn't show up, he was with her the whole time. That was the answer. Jacob was the first to spot us, a look of worry was evident in his eyes, Paul looked up next and I caught his eyes. I hope he saw the pain in mine, I hope he realized just how much he had hurt me. It looked like he did. He had a look of regret on his face and he opened his mouth to talk but I wasn't ready to hear it. It was his fault he hadn't showed up. I wasn't gonna sit there and take his lame excuses like a fool. I pushed past him and ran out of the restaurant and into the pouring rain.

I wasn't expecting him to follow me, I didn't expect him to pull me towards him and turn me to face him

And I definitely wasn't expecting him to crush his lips to mine…

But yet, that's exactly what he did…


	6. Chapter 6

For about 5 good seconds, I was in heaven. I pushed all my thoughts to the side and focused on the soft, wet lips that were moving along with mine. My hands went to his chest, which was as hard as a boulder, and I pressed myself into him. His arms tightened around me and warmth ran through my body. I sighed into the kiss, and ran my tongue along the outline of his lips. It was a perfect moment. Every problem and issue forgotten, all that mattered was me and him. But then again. All good things come to an end.

"Paul!" A female voice called out. I broke away from him instantly, remembering my reason for being here. Turning to look at the girl who had interrupted us, I realized it was the girl who had come in with him. My heart, which had been soaring for a few seconds, crashed to the pit of my stomach.

"Paul? Are you ok?" She made a move to leave the warm restaurant and come join us in the rain, but Jacob held her back. He muttered something to her, and a look of surprise fell on her face. She instantly closed the door and went to join Jacob elsewhere.

"Natalie…" My name came out as a whisper from Paul's mouth. I wouldn't admit to him the shiver that went through me from hearing him say my name, he didn't need to know. He had another girl; he didn't give a damn about me.

"Natalie..." He repeated, this time bringing one of his hands to my face, and lifting my chin up to meet his eyes.

"Baby, I don't even know where to start, you can't imagine how much I regret what happened last night"

I tried my best to make sure he didn't see how much I loved it when he called me baby, my face kept its blank look.

"My cousin Laila," he nodded his head toward the restaurant. Oh, so she's family? What a way to make me feel stupid. "She came into town and she's got a condition."

He stopped there and collected his thoughts.

"I needed to be there for her, and well, she didn't get better" He sighed and ran a hand through his wet hair.

I can just imagine how the people in the restaurant saw us right now, but it didn't matter. It didn't matter what anyone thought, except for Paul.

"Nat, you have to believe me," He pulled me into his arms. "I wanted to be there last night, I wanted to call, let you know what was going on, but I lost track of time."

_Lost track of time? Is he serious?_

I promised myself I wouldn't take his bullshit. I would have forgiven him if he had simply apologized and gave me a reasonable excuse. But this was **ridiculous**. I pulled myself out of his arms and took a few steps back.

"Do you take me for an idiot? 'Cause that's what it seems like." The pain and the tears from this morning were rushing back to me. Why did I have to be so emotional?

"I'm not gonna stand here and digest the bullshit your feeding me. It doesn't matter anyways. I'm over this, over you, over it all" I knew the tears were coming down but I kept going. Might as well say it all now.

"You really had me fooled Paul, giving me all these little signs that you liked me. And for a while there, I thought you would be different from all the past idiots I'd dated, but I was so wrong"

"She..." I pointed at the restaurant, "does not have a condition. I know a healthy person when I see one, so quit taking to me like I'm stupid."

I was full on sobbing now, and I gave up trying to hold back. I felt his arms around me in an instant. He placed a kiss on my head before whispering in my ear.

"I'm sorry Nat, but you weren't in my position. You wouldn't understand."

I pushed him away, anger was fuming in me.

"So I wouldn't understand eh? Care to enlighten me then?"

He groaned and ran his fingers through hair once more. "Please, don't make this difficult for me Nat, I can't tell you yet."

My anger was growing and I knew I had to get away from him,

"Whatever Paul," I walked toward the restaurant parking lot, only to remember that Sophia had the car keys, not me. With a groan, I dragged myself back to the Sophia,

Paul stood in the same spot, not moving, just silently watching me. He seemed frozen, and for a split second, I wanted to go, put my arms around him, and comfort him. Thank God I'm smarter than that.

Sophia was waiting anxiously at the table we had been seated at earlier, but she wasn't alone. With her were Jacob and Paul's so called cousin. All three looked up when I entered the building. Sophia shot out of her seat, and her arms were wrapped around me.

"Can we go home?" I whispered, feeling like a helpless child. She simply nodded and led me away, but not before Jacob spoke.

"You gotta believe him Nat, he lost track of time, we all did. He nearly beat himself when he realized he was too late."

Ok, so maybe he wasn't lying but that doesn't take away the pain. I'd have to think about this whole situation. I gave a nod towards Jacob, and made a move to the door, Sophia by my side. As we walked to my ride, I noticed Paul wasn't outside anymore.

The ride back to my place was silent, and the remainder of the day was the same way. I was thankful Sophia understood the fact that I didn't want to talk about the Paul situation. My thoughts were all over the place, but one thing was for sure, I didn't want to give up on Paul. I felt the chemistry during the kiss, I know there's something between us, and I'm willing to make it happen. Getting him on board is a whole other case. It was times like this that I was desperately in need of a good run. Not caring if it was night, I changed into a tank top, shorts and some sneakers. I'm not the type to get worried about the weather; in fact I need good breeze to hit me. Grabbing my iPod, I went downstairs to notify my cousin about my plans. I found her in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. Whoa, girl must be hungry!

"Uh, Ms.Rachel Ray?" I teased, grabbing one of the many baked cookies. "I'm going out for a run; I'll be out for about 2 hours." I stuffed the cookie in my mouth, devouring it whole. She turned away from the soup she was brewing and whipped her hands on her apron.

"Where are you gonna do your run?"

"I heard about this beach not far from here, First Beach or something. I wanna check it out" Although I had hated Miami, the beaches there were always convenient for a good run. It was the only thing I missed about my old home.

"Just be careful, there are some thick woods near that beach and I've heard stuff about wolves roaming the area."

Wolves? In this part of the world? **Impossible**. I nodded at her and grabbed my car keys. As I drove to the beach, it seemed I overlooked something. First Beach was in La Push, aka where Paul lived. Hopefully, we wouldn't run into each other, and if we did, I'd just keep running. It wouldn't be _that_ hard to walk away from him right? Swallowing my fear, I parked my car and walked to the beach. It was pretty dark and the waves were light. The moon was shining bright, and it gave the whole area a warm glow. The whole atmosphere was calm and peaceful. Just what I needed. I walked to the beach and turned my iPod on, and listened to the tunes of Linkin Park, Cold Play and Taylor Swift as I ran. Half an hour into my run, I realized a bonfire was happening at the edge of the beach.

_Great, there goes the calm and silent atmosphere._

My eyes scanned the area, there really wasn't any place I could continue my run, a few people were leaving the bonfire, and walking along the beach. I eyed the forest to my side, it seemed dark and secluded. Just what I needed!

I headed into the woods, and worked my way around till I found a trail. I started my jog again, and once again my thoughts wandered back to Paul.

I would find him after my run. Well first I should shower; I wouldn't want him seeing me like this. But we had to talk; there was something he was holding from me. I sensed it this afternoon. Why couldn't he be honest with me? It hurt me knowing he couldn't trust me. I mean, hadn't all the previous signs shown that he wanted something with me? A relationship, a commitment, but maybe I had misread the signs. Once again the pain rained on my heart.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that my heart jumped when I ran into a hard body. The chest was hard and muscled, but not as much as Pauls', and it sent me flying back. I looked up at two guys standing over me laughing.

"You should watch where you're going, pretty thing" Spoke the dark haired one of the two. A shiver ran down my spine as a sly grin formed on his lips.

The other of the two, a freckled red head, took a step closer to me. "She really is a pretty thing isn't she?" His eyes ran across my body, stopping to stare at my legs. I took the opportunity to quickly jump to feet; they seemed surprised but then grinned at me.

"You look scared babe, we won't hurt you. You'll enjoy this" The dark haired one said, the two advanced on me and my heart beat faster than it ever had in my life. Their plan was obvious, back me up till I hit a tree then rape me. Tears of anger filled my eyes; nobody had the right to take my virginity without my permission. I stopped moving, and let them advance on me. I wasn't gonna go down without a fight. They gave each other confused looks, probably wondering why I wasn't running away. I wonder if they had done this before. Or was I their first?

I clenched my fists as they took one last closer step towards me. Staring the redhead in the eye, I made my first move, and kicked the dark haired guy in the crotch. He fell to his knees with a groan. His friend narrowed his eyes at me and instantly grabbed my arms, forcefully pushing me into the nearest tree. Pain shot through my back as the rough exterior, he pulled me back and once again thrust me against the tree once again. I cried out as the pain increased.

"You think your slick, don't you?" He whispered against ear as his strong alcoholic breath filled my nostrils.

"Get the fuck off me!" I yelled. I tried kicking him but he had my legs trapped in between his legs. His buddy had managed to get himself off the ground and was making his way over to us. That's when it happened.

2 humungous wolves jumped out of the trees and ran for us. I think I broke a world record because how fast my heart was beating. The wolves, a grey one and a dark brown one growled at us.

_What a way to die, almost getting raped then being eaten alive by oversized wolves. _

The red head that had me in his hold quickly pulled me against away from the tree and roughly pushed me toward the wolves. I fell in between menacing wolves and I stared up at them. Never in my life had I been so scared. I was shaking and dirty and feeling like shit.

I wouldn't get to say goodbye to my parents, how would they react when they found out their daughter had been killed my wolves? What about Sophia? I wasn't ready to leave her behind, or Brian, or my aunt. Oh Lord, Paul! I would never get my chance with him.

I was sobbing by now, and one the brown wolf licked my face. I sat there frozen, in shock. Had the wolf just licked my tears away? I didn't have time to ponder the thought, my attackers were trying to escape, they took off running down the trail and the wolves immediately chased them. Well, honestly it wasn't much of a chase; the wolves had the men on the ground and were growling ferociously at them. The terrified looks on these grown men's faces weren't something you would see everyday, and I exploded into a fit of giggles. I know this wasn't exactly the right situation to be having a laugh attack, but they I deserve to laugh in my last few minutes of life.

Surprisingly, the wolves didn't tear their victims to shreds like I was expecting, instead they backed away from them still growling, and the men took the opportunity to run off. I watched with the wolves until they were out of sight, then they slowly made their way towards me. I got off my feet and walked toward my heroes/to-be killers. They stopped dead in their tracks and I kept walking towards them. I went to the grey one first, and rubbed him. He was stiff as I ran my hands across his nape.  
"Thank You" I whispered.

_Congratulations Natalie, you've officially lost your mind. Your petting the wild animals that are about to kill you any second now. Run Bitch Run!_

Now, if I was a smart person, I'd listen to my conscious and run as fast as my legs would carry me. But I've never been a smart person.

I moved from the grey wolf to the brown one. I rubbed his fur as well, and whispered "Thank You" to it. I heard rustling behind me, and turned to see the grey wolf disappear into the trees. Turning back, I went rigid.

This can't be possible. My eyes are playing a joke on me. I rubbed my eyes and took another look.

There, in the spot where the brown wolf had been, stood Paul Veror, in all his naked glory.

Yup, my eyes are playing definitely playing a joke on me.


	7. Chapter 7

Have you ever had a moment, when you're thinking about something so hard that you end up seeing the object of your thoughts? Well I'm hoping that's what happening to me because there is no way Paul could have taken the place of the brown wolf. That would mean they were….the same person.

_If I get out of this situation safely, I am totally getting my head checked._

I stared at his face, waiting for him to disappear, but it didn't happen. His eyes were narrowed, his skin glowing in the moonlight and his jaw was clenched. He looked mad. Was he angry with me? Was it because I had discovered his secret?

"Natalie…" His voice was deep and husky. "Can you turn around for a second?"

My face instantly went red when I realized he was naked. Thank God it was dark out. I whipped around and covered my eyes. I waited patiently until I heard his voice.

"You can turn around now" He was standing in the same position, wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Where had they come from? His still looked mad, but there was another emotion evident in his eyes. He looked slightly nervous…or anxious. He didn't make a move, or say a thing; instead he stood there watching me carefully. I guess it's up to me to make the first move.

"So, who's the grey wolf?" I needed who else to thank.

His eyes widened and he looked a bit shocked. "Hold on, you're not freaked out?"

Freaked out? Slightly. I mean, the guy I'm crazy about might be a…werewolf? But that didn't change who he was.

"Not freaked out, just surprised. It's not like I was expecting this." I took a few steps towards him, wanting to close the distance between us. He didn't make a move; instead, he continued to stare at me. Wasn't I the one who was supposed to be in shock?

"You wanna tell me what's going on Paul?" I was standing directly in front of him now, and he finally broke out of his frozen state. He reached for my hand and I gladly gave it. He led me down the trail I had come down and started talking.

"This isn't the way I wanted you to find out, heck any situation would be better than what just happened." He stopped walking and looked me in the eye. With his free hand, he traced my jaw then cupped my cheek,

"Are you hurt? Did _they_ do any physical damage?" The anger returned to his eyes as he spoke. I was relieved to know it wasn't me he was mad at, but then again I don't want him mad at all.

"I'm fine Paul," I didn't tell him about my back pain, it would probably stop by tomorrow.

"C'mon, this isn't about me. Tell me what's going on?" I nagged. We started walking again.

"It's complicated, but Ima do my best." He started, and he began a story about old Quileute legends. I followed eagerly as he told me about Taha Aki, the third wife, and spirit wolves. At the end of the story, Paul stopped us and looked around. I followed his gaze and realized we had made it back to the beach parking lot. My head was still spinning from the story, I was intruded and my heart was filled with a warm feeling knowing that Paul trusted me enough to share his family history with me.

His eyes made their way back to me, and waited for me to speak.

"So…you're a werewolf" It wasn't a question, instead a fact. Then I remembered something. "Does this werewolf thing have anything to do you missing our date?"

At the mention of our failed date, he looked down. "Yeah" he mumbled.

He led me over to a lodge and we took a seat.

"Laila is the 2nd female in the history of our tribe to become a werewolf." 2nd female?

"Who's the first" I asked.

"Leah…She's not around. She lives in Seattle."

Tearing his gaze away from the ocean, where he'd been looking for a while, he turned to me.

"Yesterday was Laila's first time phasing" – He must have seen the confused look on his face – "Changing from a human to werewolf and the other way around." I nodded my head to let him know I understood and he continued the story,

"So anyways, she was as confused as we all were when we first phased. She couldn't control herself and took off running. We chased her for few hours before we finally got control her, it took a while to get her back here, then we had to explain to her what was happening." He sighed and ran his hand over his head. Guilt flooded through me. I can't believe I gave him a hard time; it was obvious he had gone through a lot. Feeling the need to comfort him, I lunged at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He seemed a bit surprised at first but shook it off. I felt his arms around me and I buried my face in his neck and breathed in his scent.

"I'm so sorry" I mumbled into his neck, feeling bad because my outburst earlier today.

He leaned me away from me and looked at me with a slightly angry face.

"If anyone here is apologizing here, it's me!" Oh yes he's angry.

"I'm sorry for not showing up, I should have called or something. I would never intentionally stand you up. Any man who did would have to be fucked up to do so…"

I could feel a smile plastered on my face, and I put one of my hands over his mouth.

"No more apologizing, from either of us ok?" He nodded and I removed my hand.

"You wanna give me another try? We could go out tomorrow." He seemed so eager; there was no way I could say no.

"Do you promise to show up?" I tilted my head to the side, and watched as a sweet smile appeared on his face. He mimicked me and tilted his head,

"I promise" Taking on his hands, he pushed my head into my proper position, and held my face in between both of his hands.

He hesitated, and then slowly leaned in. I could feel his warm breath on my face, and using my instinct, I leaned in as well. My heart felt as if it left my chest as our lips neared. Just as they were about to touch, my phone ran.

Paul dropped his hands from my face and edged away. I was infuriated as I checked my caller ID. Sophia.

_Strike One_

"What?" I snapped. Paul chuckled, probably found my slight anger humorous.

"Uh...Nat? Where are you? Do you have _any idea_ what time it is?" She pressed. She sounded worried.

"Umm...I must have lost track of time. Don't worry about me, I'll be home in a few minutes" We said our goodbyes and hung up.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Paul offered as we both got up.

"My cars here," I was apologetically, honestly I didn't mind if he took me home. Darn that car.

Paul didn't give up. "Do you mind if I ride back with you?"  
"I don't mind, but how are you gonna get home?"  
He grinned at me, and raised an eyebrow. Ahh…I got it now.

"Oh, so your quick runner when your in wolf form?" He gave me a cocky grin, that said it all, and led me towards my car.

We talked nonstop as I drove home. He had me laugh carelessly as he told me crazy things he had done in his childhood. He told about the wild stuff he and his friends would do, cliff diving, motor bike racing and more. He seemed a bit surprised that I wasn't a wild girl.

"Your actions kinda point towards that, I mean I tell you I'm a werewolf and you don't seem bothered." He argued.

"I don't know, I'm just like that" It was true, I knew I wasn't wild, but I was open minded.

Just as I had suspected, his eyes widened, as I pulled the car into our driveway and parked it.

"You live here?" He asked as he stepped out of the ride. He stared up at the house.

"Yup" I watched him as he scanned the house and the front garden.

Tearing his eyes from the elaborate ground, he grabbed my hand. "Not bad, not bad at all," he smirked and led me up to the door. Good thing my mom was out tonight, I definitely didn't need her sneaking looks through one of the windows, or worse, the balcony.

"It feels good not having to keep this werewolf thing from you now" He whispered as we stood in front of my door.

"You know you can tell me anything right? I'm not gonna judge you or think of you any differently" Werewolf or not, I was still crazy about him.

"I'll remember that," His tone dropped an inch and it seemed he was talking more to himself then he was to me. I watched him as stuck his hands in his pockets, he looked so alluring in this light. So dark, seductive and dangerous. I liked it.

He caught me staring and smiled, then just like before, he leaned into my face. I don't know how he got his hands out his pockets so quickly but I felt them around my waist as he pulled me closer to him. I inhaled his enticing smell of manly sweat and nature. My lips leaned into his and just as we brushed against each other, the door flew open and someone screamed.

I flew back, an instant reflex and nearly tripped over my own feet. Sophia stood there, the door wide open, and an apologetic look on her face.

_Strike Two._

"I didn't know it was you Nat, I heard voices and movement, and I got freaked out. Sorry." She murmured.

"Its cool, I was just leaving" Paul replied. "I'll see you tomorrow Nat, I'll come by at 1"

And with that, my knight in shining amour, walked off.

"Is he gonna walk home?" Soph asked as we both stepped inside.

"He's got his means of transportation" I smiled as I thought of him in wolf form, running through the woods.

The night's events replayed in my head as I lay in my bed waiting for sleep to hit me. And when it finally did, I was left with a promise of a better tomorrow.

* * *

**Is anyone as excited as me for the date? )**

**Now, the whole Laila being a werewolf thing is really important, and its going to be a prominent part of the story. So keep that in your heads.**

**Review.Review.Review.**

**You guys rock!  
**


	8. Chapter 8

"Brian put me down now!" My voice could probably be heard miles away but I couldn't care less, what really mattered was getting my feet securely back on the ground. My cousin Brian, had other plans. My stomach lurched as he twirled me around in his arms continuously. He slowed down to check my reaction, probably just to see if I had thrown up or not, then quickly started to spin again.

I knew my breakfast was going to come rushing up if he didn't stop soon, and I gripped his arm, digging my nails into his flesh. He yelped and dropped me, my behind stung as it came in contact with the hard carpet.

"Jerk" I muttered, as I raised myself to my feet and rubbed my lower back.

"Just trying to have some fun cuz, but do us all a favor ad cut your nails" He laughed to himself and flopped down on the couch. Grabbing the remote, he started flipping through the channels, finally settling on a football game.

"Why do you find pleasure in torturing me?" I asked. He had been picking on me since I stepped through the door at his house. Sophia and I had come over to her house to visit her mom and give mine a ride home. I was still waiting for my mom to come downstairs from my aunt's room, so that meant I was stuck with Brian until she did.

"Why are you exaggerating? Your family and I don't get to hang out with you everyday, so excuse me for showing I care" His eyes were still focused on the TV, and I took the opportunity to throw a cushion at him.

"By trying to spin me on your head? Last time I checked, people didn't show love and care like that,"

"Your family, get used to it Nat," The phone rang and he dove for it, not even waiting for the second ring.

"Hey Andrea, how are you...That's good, Wassup...Really?" He cocked his eyebrow and a grin formed on his face. "I'd love to come study with you…I'll be at yours in 15 minutes. ...Alright, see you soon." He hung up and rushed upstairs to the washroom. Men are so odd. Wonder who this Andrea chick was, from what I'd heard from Soph, Brian didn't have much luck with girls. As hard as it was to believe, Brian was quiet outside of the house, which meant he didn't torment everyone the way he did to me. He literally flew down the stairs and grabbed his jacket and car keys.

"Who's the girl I should pity?" I asked as he quickly examined himself in the TV reflection.

"Her name is Andrea, and she wants _me_ to study with her" His smiled widened, and I was almost happy for him. Almost...

"You finally get a date…in university. Wow" I laughed, as he scowled at me.

"I was waiting for the right girl" He defended. I just shook my head as he exited the door, I heard the engine of his car roar seconds later, and he was gone.

Speaking of dates, I had one of my own in a few hours and my _dear daring_ mother was taking one hell of a time saying goodbye. Knowing her, she was probably gossiping about the rumors around town. One of the downfalls to this small town was that everyone knew practically everything about everyone; I guess there's nothing else to do in a town so small.

If I had to drag my mom downstairs, I would do it, nothing was going to get in the way of a perfect date with Paul….and I mean nothing! Taking two stairs at a time, I ran upstairs and into my aunt's room. My mom and my aunt were going through photos on the floor. Ok, this is odd. My mom never sits on the floor, let alone just lay there. The pictures were of my aunt and friends at community events and picnics, and whatnots. Just as I suspected, they were gossiping.

'That's Bill Newton, and his wife. I heard his son is engaged to the Mallory's daughter." My aunt spoke as she pointed out figures in photo. My eyes scanned the photo; my aunt looked pleasant and happy as she stood next to a middle aged couple. She quickly disposed the photo, and pulled out another one. The next one showed a group of policemen in uniforms, each holding a plate of food; it looked like they were at a barbecue or a picnic.

"That's Chief Swan," My aunt pointed to a man who stood to the side of the group, he wore a huge smile that reached his eyes. "Things are really starting to look up for him, he's been seeing the widow Sue Clearwater for a while, and people are saying his daughter has made him a grandfather."

She threw picture to the side, and pulled out yet another photo, my mother and I both gasped as we stared at the breathtaking photo. The setting was a meadow or a park, an it was late evening. The beauty of the pretty flowers and scenery had nothing on the figures in the photo. On the left stood a tall blond male with his arm securely looped around a gorgeous female. His smile was heart stopping, and the woman on his side gave off a warm, loving vibe. Next to the female was a young man, who looked about the same age as Brian, and a stunning female. The boy had messy bronze-colored hair, while the female had dark brown hair. The boy was smiling at the female in his arm, and the girl was laughing. I could easily feel the love vibrating off of them, and their wedding bands shone brightly in spite of the cloudy sky. Although they were all different, they all looked similar, I mean besides the fact that they were all extraordinarily beautiful. They were all pale, very pale, and their gold eyes stuck out. They looked as if they hadn't slept in days, and the dark bags under their eyes proved just that. But these were all minor details that were overshadowed by the big picture. There were beautiful. There really were no words to describe the beauty of these people. What were they doing in Forks? They belonged in Hollywood.

"This is the Cullens," My aunt explained. Cullens…where had I heard that name before?

"Carlisle is a doctor at the hospital here" She pointed to the blonde on the far left, "His wife Esme, she's such a sweet woman, nothing less than loving." I had been right. "The gentlemen of their family, Edward Cullen, Carlisle adopted him after his parents passed away, poor child." Edward Cullen? I'd heard that name elsewhere as well, but _where?_

"And this right here is Isabella Cullen, Chief Swan's daughter, married to young Edward Cullen"

"That old man created this beauty?" My mom teased.

"Surprisingly yes, the odd thing is though, Isabella had always been a pretty little thing, but after she got married, she came out as this!" She pointed at the dark haired beauty in the photo.

"She looks more like her mother- in-law than she does her own mother now, odd isn't it?"  
My mom nodded in agreement as she studied the photo.

Edward Cullen…Isabella Cullen…Chief Swan…Carlisle. Oh! It all clicked. I remembered my conversation with Paul the night before, in his attempts to explain werewolves and "cold ones", he told me about the Cullen family. It made sense now, Isabella was Bella Swan, I remembered the story he had told me about her, and how she was the reason the werewolves and vampires were now friendly towards each other instead of enemies. The girl took a wild chance marrying a vampire, and now she is one. My mind instantly snapped back to Paul, and I scanned the room for a clock, as I found one and my heart jumped. It was already 12:30, Paul would be at my house in half an hour looking for me, and I was here!

"Mom! I need to leave" I tried to get her attention as she flipped through photos in one of the many photo albums.

"What's the rush?" She mumbled her attention undivided.

"I have a date in 30 minutes, that's my rush!" I blurted out, and instantly regretted it.

Both my mom and aunt's head snapped up.

"A date? You've already met boys?" My mom questioned. _Oh God._

"He goes to my school Mom, he's showing me around town."

"Who is he?" My aunt pitched in. _Someone help me._

"Paul Veror" I muttered back.

"Paul? One of the Quileute boys?" My aunt questioned.

"Yes, can I go now?" I checked the clock again, 12:35. _Great, just great._

"Be careful with that boy, I hear he has a bad temper." She advised me.

"I will," I rolled my eyes as I gave both women a kiss on the cheek and hurried out of the house.

* * *

**Ding Dong!**

Shoot! I rushed to the answer the door, not even bothering to tie my shoe laces, thankfully I didn't step on the laces and fall on my ass, and I managed to the get to the door in one piece. I swung the door open to reveal Paul looking as hot as ever. He was in a pair of dark blue jeans, and a loose fitted t-shirt. The muscles on his arms would look threatening to anyone else, but I found them sexy and securing.

"Hi" I said breathless…I don't know if it was from running down the stairs or from seeing him.

"Hey," He grinned. Definitely from seeing him. "You ready to go?"

"Yea let me grab my coat and keys." Grabbing them in one hand, I followed him out.

"So what's the plan for the day?" I asked, as I slipped into my coat, we walked down the driveway towards his truck.

"I thought we'd get some late lunch, see some hotspots, then go get dinner." He looked at me with a hesitant look.

"Sounds fun!" I wasn't lying, less is always more. His face broke into a smile.

I grinned as his truck came into view. He had a good taste in cars, just another point to add to his "perfect" list.

"Nice car," I commented, "Gotta love a classic, what year is it?"

"1989" He answered proudly; I took a few steps toward it, but stepped on my untied shoelaces instead. My whole body swung forward and I braced myself for the hard impact of the ground to hit me, it never happened. Instead I fell into large, warm arms that lifted me to my feet. I looked up at Paul's worried face and gave a small smile.

"Ooops. I forgot to tie my laces" What a way to embarrass myself, I felt my cheeks redden. I made a move to bend down to tie them but Paul beat me to it.

"Allow me," He said and tied my laces. My heart beat frantically from his touch, although it was light, and I knew instantly I needed more of his touch. Just as quick as he had gotten down, he was back up and helping me into his ride. We made small talk on the ride to the small diner where we had lunch, then continued our talk throughout dinner. There was never an awkward silence between us, and I never felt a second of boredom. He didn't bring up the werewolves topic, and I desperately wanted to ask him about the Cullens and them being vampires but I didn't rush him, and instead just waited until he brought it up. He took me to every hotspot in Forks and La Push imaginable. I was thankful I had worn sneakers, because my feet would have been swollen by now. I told this to Paul, and he joked saying he wouldn't have minded carrying me everywhere, although his tone was teasing, there was honestly in his eyes and I blushed.

It wasn't until after dinner, when we were relaxing in his car watching the sunset, that he brought up the werewolves topic.

"I'm glad you're still willing to be around me after finding out what I am," He sounded a bit ashamed towards the end, and it nearly broke my heart. I took his hand into my own and gave him a light squeeze.

"I told you, it doesn't matter what you are…I like you for who you are not what you are," I blushed at confessing my feelings, and prayed he wouldn't be able to tell.

"You're amazing, you know that?" He grinned at me and I felt my heart swell. I desperately needed to distract myself before I jumped him and did something we weren't ready for.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked.

"Anything." Simple and promising. Just what I needed to hear.

"Tell me about the Cullens again…please?"

He seemed a bit surprised by my question; his eyebrows came together in confusion.

'What bought this on?"

"My aunt had a photo of them at some event, and they were all smiling and everything. Are you sure they're vampires? I didn't see any fangs, no burning, and I swear my aunt said something about Bella having a baby."

To me surprise, Paul burst out laughing. He clutched his stomach and desperately tried to stop but it didn't do any good. I stared at him with a bewildered look on my face until he had calmed down.

"Whoo! Sorry about that, it's just that you believe so much of that Hollywood crap." He smiled at me apologetically. "They don't burn in the light, instead they...uh…shine or _glisten_." He looked a bit confused himself but he continued. "They're really careful about showing their fangs because that would probably give away their cover." All the teasing left his tone as he continued. "The baby thing is true, but we still don't understand how that happened. Their baby is half human and half vampire." I gasped and he stopped. Half human? What would that look like? It looked like Paul understood the question in my mind. "She looks like a human; she just grows faster than the normal babies. She's harmless. Jacob is with her now." Jacob? Well Bella had been his best friend, so that made sense. But I had to see this to believe it. I simply nodded, not trusting myself to talk. I can't believe I had been so blind, there was a whole other world out there, which had been here for decades, and I was just finding out now. I felt like a blind man seeing day for the first time. I felt warmth on my hand, and looked to see Paul's concerned face.

"I'm fine, it's just mind-boggling. " I said, not giving him the chance to ask the question.

"I'm here, if you wanna talk about any of this." He offered, and I smiled and nodded at him.

_Could he get any more perfect?_

The sunset we had been watching had disappeared and all too soon it was time for me to head home. Paul drove me back to my place and walked me to my door. I made a silent prayer for no interruption as we reached the door.

"I had a great time, thanks you so much" I said sincerely. Now I could talk about Forks and La Push like someone who lived there. I knew most of the important places.

"Naw, I should be thanking you. You're the one who gave me a second chance."

"I would have, no matter what. I like you too much to have left it like that." I confessed,

"I feel the same way" He muttered as he pulled me into arms. I stared into his dark eyes as we leaned in towards each other. The seconds I felt his lips on mine, my world exploded. Mu eyes automatically closed as a tingling sensation swept through me, and when he shuddered I knew he felt the sensation as well. His arms tightened around me as I pressed my lips harder into his, adding to the pressure. The movement of his soft lips made me dizzy, and I forgot about absolutely everything. Unfortunately we had to breath and he pulled away from me, and leaving us both gasping for breath. He pulled me into a hug, and whispered into my ear. "Wow". I gave a small chuckle, still trying to regain my breath. "Wow is an understatement."

"That felt like a dream" I confessed, blushing slightly.

"Want me to prove you're awake?" He offered. His eyes glistening with anticipation.

I simply nodded, and he pulled me into another breathtaking kiss.

Wow.


	9. Chapter 9

"I heard she seduced him into it."

"Seduced him? Na ah. Paul had better self control than fall for that _that._"

"Well than, what is it Oh smart one"

"I heard she blackmailed him into dating him. Why else would he do it?"

These were the conversations being whispered at each corner as I walked into class on Monday. Girls had been thrown into rumor frenzy when Paul had shown up at my locker to kiss me good morning. Of course at that moment, I was too caught up in Paul's lips to care, but I quickly realized word got around _fast_. I was surprisingly ok with all this, it didn't matter to me what jealous females had to say about me, all that mattered was my loved ones thoughts. But that didn't mean the whispers stopped. I tried to block out the voices of the gossip ruled girls as I took my seat in class, and instead gave my full focus to my phone. Since my undivided attention was on checking my text messages, I wasn't expecting Quil to take a seat next to me, and place his head on my shoulder. So when he actually did, I literally jumped out of my chair and landed on my ass on the ground. Snickers could be heard around the room, and Quil was desperately trying to hold back his laughter, I glared at him.

"You're so gonna pay" I got off the floor, and took my seat again.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't come around blaming me when you're the one who's unaware of their surrounding".

"Stop trying to get smart with me." I joked with him. Noone was gonna ruin my good mood, especially Quil, not that he ever did.

"Are you calling me stupid?" He placed a hand over his heart "That hurt…deep." His mock frown on his face was too much and I burst out laughing.

My good mood kept going throughout the whole morning, I lost track of how many teachers told me to stop disturbing the class, and a few even yelled at me. I laughed it all away as I exited my last morning class, and ventured off to find Sophia. It wasn't hard, she was at her locker putting her books away, she shut her locker when she saw me and we linked arms, giggling and laughing as we walked to the cafeteria. The boys had already beaten us there, and were already eating. Leave it to them not to waste time when it comes to food. Soph took a seat in between Quil and Embry and started a conversation. Something I noticed quickly about Soph was her relationship with Embry. He was the first person she'd talk to when we got to school, and at lunch, they seemed like best friends but I swear there's something else there. I shoved the thought to the back of my head and came up from Paul and wrapped my arms around his neck. He placed his drink down and pulled me into his lap.

"I missed you this morning," His pushed my hair away from my face and placed his face on the hollow of my neck.

"I missed you too," I still couldn't believe how comfortable I was around him, no awkwardness, no tense feelings, just peaceful comfort. I ran a finger through his hair, and gave his hot forehead a kiss. His heat constantly freaked me out, I was afraid he would explode into a fever at any moment but he would remind me it was the traits of the werewolves. He did mention his "body heater" would come in handy in the winter when I would be in need of "warming up". The thought itself made me blush. Paul pulled me out of my thoughts as he cupped my cheek.

"Aren't you hungry?" The grumble in my stomach gave him the answer and placed me next to him, and pushed his plate toward me,

"Take what you want" he offered as he dug into a burger, I took a cinnamon bun, and started eating. We sneaked glances at each other all throughout lunch, and the minute the bell rang, he pulled me to my feet and led me out of the caf. My afternoon classes were my new favorites, simply because I had them with Paul. I would probably end up failing these class anyways, how did anyone expect me to focus when I had an exotic beauty sitting next to me, it was utterly impossible.

"What are you doing this afternoon," His finger traced a imaginary line down my covered arm, and I shivered. He grinned.

"Homework?" I could never concentrate when he was touching me in any way,

He chuckled and shook his head. "You wanna hang with me?" His finger had made its way to my face and was roaming my cheek and jaw line.

"You have to ask? You know the answer," He seemed pleased with the response and closed the distance between us, placing his lips on mine. We moved against each other frantically, not wanting the feeling of connection to end but our teacher had other plans.

"Alright, everyone open your textbooks to page 58 and start reading paragraph 4, start taking notes. Would Mr.Veror and Ms. Walton be kind enough to come up for air, and leave the lip wrestling for after school?" My head shot away from Paul's and I placed my head on my desk. My face was flushed and probably as red as a ripe tomato. Paul just grinned and winked at me before opening his textbook. The rest class passed uneventfully, and before I knew it I was in my last class, and Paul was counting down the seconds before the bell rang.

_5_

4

_3_

2

_1_

_BRIING._

He grabbed my hand, and led the way to my locker, waiting patiently as I grabbed my things.

"Do you need to go to your locker?" He'd already grabbed my hand once again, and was leading me out.

"Nope."

"Can you come over? I'm in the mood to stay in" We walked over to my car, since Sophia was riding with Embry today (no surprise there,) it would be just me and Paul.

"Anything you want sweet cheeks," I felt my heart jump at the nickname.

"Sweet cheeks?" I questioned as I slipped into the drivers seat, Paul was already in the passenger's.

"It fits you, your cheeks are the highlight of your face, next to your smile and your eyes." It wasn't a surprise I blushed, nobody ever showered with compliments, this was a first.

He poked fun at me during the ride home, doing and saying anything that would have caused a blush out of me; I guess this was his new obsession.

We spent the afternoon laying on the couch in the movie room, watching film after film. Midway through the third movie, Paul got a call. His eyes widened as he listened to the person on the other side. He rushed off the couch and grabbed my face, kissing me quickly. He left me lightheaded, and he rushed to the door.

"Wait, where are you going? What's going on?" I hurried after him.

"Laila's loose again, she's having a hard time phasing back. I need to help."  
Paul would be around a raging werewolf…a werewolf that had no sense of control. Something could easily happen to him.

"Promise me you'll be careful" I pulled him into a hug, and I sighed, feeling his lips pressing against the top of my head.

"I promise," And with that he was gone. Worry flooded me as I shut the door behind after him.

I got nothing done that evening, every few minutes I would glance at the phone and the door, waiting for Paul to either call or come knocking. It didn't happen. But I kept waiting.

By 10 that night, I received the news I had been dreading the whole evening. The phone rang and Jared spoke on the other line.

"Nat. Paul's been injured. We need you."

* * *

**Theres your treat for being so patient with me :) **

**Two chapters in one day!**

**Anyone wanna take a guess on whats going to happen to Paul?**

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**Thanks! **


	10. Chapter 10

My body was in a whirlpool as I drove to La Push. If any officer were to catch me at this moment, I would be in major trouble, but I paid no attention to the trees flying past me, or the speedometer slipping to 120. My hands shook as I gripped the steering wheel tighter, my knuckles were white, was it from the pressure or from fear? Fear that I might loose Paul, fear that I might never feel his arms around me again, and fear that my lips would never get to kiss his again. I couldn't lose him, we had just _found_ each other, it would be torture to think of what _could_ have been. I shook my mind off the thoughts as I drove into La Push and towards an unknown house. I didn't even bother asking Jared whose house they were keeping Paul at, all I needed was the directions. So here I was, speeding down the road, clueless to the rest of the world. Following the directions and description I was given, I found the house; I stared up at the decent sized house, my heart worked overtime as I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. Just knowing Paul – _my_ Paul- was inside there and injured, was enough to make my heart squeeze in pain. I needed to get to him. Quickly parking the car, I jumped out and jogged up toward the door, and gave the wooden door 2 loud knocks. Almost instantly, it flung open to reveal a beautiful dark haired female. Her hair was held back in a pony tail and she clutched a cordless phone in her hand. My eyes were instantly drawn to her face, as red scars plastered across her cheeks. Feeling my gaze upon her, she spoke.

"You must be Natalie, I'm Emily. We've heard so much about you. Come in" She stepped aside, and I took a few hesitant steps inside the house. I wasn't surprised to find it filled, although I only recognized Quil and Embry. Both stood to embrace me in a hug, and I could easily feel their stiffness. They were as scared as I was.

"I'm so glad you made it here quickly, Jared seems to think you deserve to see Paul," Emily recaptured my attention as she placed her hand on my back, and led me to the couch.

"C-Can I see him?" I whispered. I watched her as she frowned slightly.

"Not yet sweetheart, we have to wait for Dr.Cullen to check him up." Dr.Cullen? As in the vampire doctor? My stomach stirred with unease at the thought of a vampire treating Paul.

Emily must have sensed my worry because she sat next to me, and placed her hands on top of mine, for some reason I found this comforting.

"He's being treated by one of the best, you shouldn't worry." She reassured me. Even through her encouraging words, I couldn't help but feel afraid and concerned.

"In the meantime, why don't I introduce everyone? I'm sure you already know Quil and Embry" I simply nodded, but she paid no attention and kept talking. "This is Leah. She came down from Seattle yesterday afternoon, and this is her brother Seth" Leah was beautiful, absolutely gorgeous, but there was something about her that warned me to stay away, to say she looked dangerous would be an understatement. On the other hand, her brother looked welcoming and friendly as he flashed me a wide smile and gave a small wave.

"Over here we have Billy Black, Jacob's father and Sue Clearwater, Leah and Seth's mom" Billy was placed in a wheelchair and Sue stood next to him, her expression hard and stiff.

"I don't know why you're all stressed over this, its just Paul" Sneered Leah. I forced my eyes away from the elders of the room to glare at her.

She grinned when she saw my angered face and continued. "We're werewolves; we heal fast, so just get over it. He'll be up and running my tomorrow, which sucks 'cause no one wants to deal with _that_."

I opened my mouth to snap a response at her but Embry beat me to it.

"How about you shut up Leah? No ones in the mood for your nasty comments." That seemed to shut her up and she turned away to stare out the window. I guess being the first female werewolf gave her a case of bitchiness. Before I could continue my thoughts, a man – no wait, a _movie_ _star_- stepped into the room. His pale white skin and intriguing gold eyes straightaway labeled him as Dr. Carlisle Cullen. He seemed to float across the room as he neared us; his white bag was clutched by his hand effortlessly.

"Paul is doing just fine. His casts are in place, and I've told Sam to make sure he stays in place for at least 2 hours. Don't let him move, and feed him plenty of food. "His tone reassured me more than Emily had earlier, and I suddenly felt silly for having doubted him. "At the rate he's moving, he'll be back to his usual self by tomorrow." A wave of gratitude fooled through me and my heart uplifted to its normal position, instead of sitting at the bottom of my chest.

Emily breathed a sigh of relief and thanked the doctor. Billy shook his hand, and Dr.Cullen was off. My legs felt numb with anticipation, I wanted to run through the house and find Paul, I wanted to see with my own eyes that he was alright. I made a move to stand up and Emily quickly followed, I waited until she took the lead then followed her up a flight of stairs and into a room. The first thing I noticed when I stepped in was that it was crowded! There were 4 people standing, not including me and Emily…and one person seated upright on a bed. Jared and Jacob gave me small smiles and a nod but didn't move from their position. They each stood on both sides on female, acting as if her bodyguard. My eyes clouded with anger and hate as I identified the person as Laila…the reason for all this chaos. She met my gaze, and her burned into mine. I refused to let her intimidate me, and I kept my eyes locked, giving her the dirtiest look possible. My eyes reflected all the hate I was feeling towards her, and she knew it. She knew I blamed her for Paul's injury, and there was no way possible I would _ever_ forgive her.

"Natalie, come here" Emily called me over, and I peeled my eyes away from my new enemy. She stood next to a tall built male who had his arms wrapped around. But my eyes skipped past them, and instead locked into Paul's. His face was blank, and unreadable, leaving me confused. Quickly scanning him, I became aware of the large cast on his left leg, the one on his left arm and the bandages that decorated his head. Tears invaded my eyes, and I blinked them back rapidly, I would be strong for him. That's a promise.

I moved towards his bed and sat on the edge, taking his blazing hand into my own.

"Paul," it came out as a whisper but I knew he heard. "How are you feeling?" I knew it was a stupid question, it was obvious how he was feeling but I needed to something, anything.

"Get her out of here" He growled, although his voice was low, everyone heard. I turned my head, waiting to see Laila being escorted out, but it didn't happen. Instead everyone stared at me. Wait…he didn't want me to leave…did he?

"I said, get her out" His voice was a bit louder now and he was staring directly at me. I felt my heat being ripped apart with a jade knife as I stared into Paul's cold, angry and fear-filled eyes. Here I was, worried sick to my stomach, barely able to control myself and he wanted me gone?

"Paul…be reasonable" The man next to Emily spoke, I barely heard him as I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Fuck No Sam!" He cursed. "What the hell were you thinking bring her here?"

So he really didn't want me here, that was all I needed to hear. I was never the type to stick around unwanted. Imoved off the bed just as Paul started yelling.

"What if she gets hurt huh? Did you consider that? She's not gonna fucking heal as fast as me. She could die! Did you think of that? No…you fucking didn't!"

Hold Up! He was worried I was going to get hurt? How the hell was I going to hurt, I was _indoors_ for God's sake!

I watched tentatively as he closed his eyes, bit his lip and took a few deep breaths. He was trying to calm himself, and I suddenly felt guilty for being the cause of his outburst.

"We're getting out of here, don't do anything crazy Paul," Jared advised him as he led Jacob and Laila out the room.

"Remember to stay put, the Cullen said two hours." Sam added before exiting the room with Emily, leaving me alone with Paul.

His eyes were now open, and he tilted his head towards the space next to him. Moving cautiously, I sat down next to him on the bed.

"I'm sorry for going all crazy" The sincerity in his eye made mine water, and I once again blinked them back. "I just don't want anything happening to you, I wouldn't be able to stand it if you got hurt."

"But I'm not going to get hurt…I'm perfectly fine" I argued softly.

He inhaled deeply before answering. "Look at me Natalie," I did as he said and scanned his damaged body. "Do you know how I got this way? Because Laila can't control herself and her anger, that's why! If she could do this to me, then what's stopping her from doing it to you?"

Realization hit me like ton of bricks, and I understood the meaning of Jared and Jacob's bodyguard stance.

'Oh" was all that came out of my mind, as I took in Paul's point of view.

"I'm sorry" I said, taking his unharmed fingers into my own.

"Baby, you shouldn't be apologizing, you have nothing to be sorry for, you weren't expecting any of this"

How did it come to him comforting _me_?

"Well neither were you," I argued. "Now be quiet, and save your energy. I want you to heal" I helped him lay down on the bed, and kept him entertained for the rest of the evening. I was so caught up in my time with Paul that I had forgotten about the rest of existence. It came as a shock when my mom called me, asking of my whereabouts, I knew it was time to leave.

"Promise me you'll be back tomorrow?" Paul asked in between kisses. I found it hard to form a proper sentence when his lips were on me, but I tried anyways.

"Only if you promise not to move and do your best to heal." I replied before giving in to his passionate kiss.

"You got a deal," He murmured against my lips, giving me a peck before releasing me.

"Do me a favor and call Jared for me, will ya?" He asked right before I exited the room. Simply nodding, I headed out towards the living room. Everyone was seated in there, and was deep in discussion. I felt slightly rude for interrupting, but it was necessary.

"I'll be heading out, thank you for everything" I said politely, turning to Jared, I added, "Paul wants to talk to you." He stood up and walked past me, but I clutched his oversized arm, stopping him in his path. "Thanks for calling me, I really appreciate it." I all but whispered. He flashed me a smile, "No problem, your family now, you deserve to know."

I gave one last smile to everyone before heading to my car. I was consumed in my thoughts on the ride home; better yet I was consumed in thoughts of Paul. Would he stay put like he had promised? Paul was an energetic guy, I don't think he was capable of staying still, but I hoped anyways. I wonder how long it would be before he would be able to get back to his wolf form, Dr.Cullen had said he would be back to normal by tomorrow, but he would have to rest before getting back to his ritual of changing between human and animal form right? I chuckled to myself as I realized I was overworking this, I sound like his mother instead of his girlfriend.

_Girlfriend? I like the sound of that._

Ok...So we weren't exactly an official couple, but it sure felt like that. We hadn't had the talk yet, but I sure was ready to claim the title of Paul's girlfriend. Just the thought made me shiver anticipation. I would make it clear tomorrow; I'd claim my rightful throne.

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"You guys are official?" Sophia squealed, she grabbed both of my hands and squeezed them.

We were seated on the floor in her bedroom, catching up on homework I had missed that day. I had always taken my education seriously, my father had made sure I did, but I had made a promise to Paul to visit him so I skipped the day of school. Now here I was, trying to catch up on my school work, but my dear cousin was making it difficult – not that I minded.

"Yea, we are." I squealed back at her. Just thinking about my morning with Paul made me giddy. I'd been reminiscing since I left his place, going over every little detail. What can I say? I'm a typical teenage female.

"Tell me everything! Word by word!" Sophia demanded, and I got right to it.

**-****Flashback-**

"_Paul!" I was laughing hysterically, as Paul's warm hands attacked my hips and stomach with an army of tickles. True to the doctor's words, both Paul's arm and legs were healed and cast free, unfortunately he was using his new found freedom to torment me until I had tears in my eyes._

"_Say it!" He demanded, his fingers still attacking my ticklish spots. His knees held me in place, and I should have surrendered but I didn't. I was having way too much fun._

"_Never!" I answered in between laughs. _

"_Say It!" He demanded once more, nuzzling his face in my neck as he spoke._

_My giggles increased as I felt his nose brush against my throat, and I knew it was time to surrender. _

"_Alright, alright!" He pulled his head away from my neck and stared at me, smiling like a mad man, waiting to hear me say what I had previously refused._

"_Paul Veror is the big bad wolf on campus" A look of triumph cam upon his face, and I exploded into another fit of giggles. He shook his head at me, and released me from his captivity, laying neck to me on the grass. When I had finally managed to calm myself down, I stared up at the sky above us. This was an almost perfect moment. Me, Paul, the beautiful sun, green grass. The only problem was the thought knocking on my head. It was now or never._

"_Paul"_

"_Mhmm?" He looked over at me, his eyes warm and inviting._

"_What are we?" _

_He blinked a few times, a confused look on his face, before answering. "Well, I'm hoping your human…as for me well –" I cut him off when I realized he misunderstood me._

"_No, I mean…what are we?" I pointed between me and him, and realization dawned on his face._

"_We're whatever you want us to be, sweet cheeks" He took a hand from behind his neck, and stroked my cheek. "What do you want us to be?"_

"_A couple," I whispered, with a blush._

"_Then that's what we are," he answered before pulling me into his arms, and locking his lips with mine._

"_My girlfriend" He said with a smile when we pulled our lips apart._

_The sunny day just got brighter._

**-End of Flashback-**

"Oh My God!" Sophia was screaming now, and I felt myself smile, I was his girl, and he was my man, no one was gonna change that, not if I had anything to do with it.

She pulled me to my feet, and hugged me as we jumped around in a circle.

"Nats got a boyfriend, Nats got a boyfriend." She sang it like a song, as we spun, laughing without a care. We probably wouldn't have stopped if it wasn't for the knock on the door interrupting us.

"Can you guys keep it down?" Brian's voice came from the other side of the door, a giggle followed, and me and Soph both raised our eyebrows.

Sophia whipped the door open to reveal Brian and a curly haired brunet leaning against a wall talking. Who is this?

"Uhh Brian?" Soph tried to get her brothers attention, it looked like he didn't want to pay attention to anything or anyone other than the female next to him, but he forced himself to anyways.

"Introductions please?" Soph said as we both emerged into the hallway.

"Andrea, this is my sister Sophia" He nodded his head toward his little sister, "and my cousin Natalie." I gave her a wide smile and a simple "hi" as I examined her. Not to be mean or anything, but my cousin can't date just _anyone_. Call me crazy, but they have to pass my expectations, and then pass Sophia's. Good luck to this one.

She was about 5'8, reaching Brain's neck, and had shoulder length chestnut brown hair. Her eyes were the same color as her hair, and tiny in comparison to her rosy cheeks. I had to give her props, she was really pretty, but then again everyone is Forks seemed to be good looking.

"Hi, nice to meet you guys." She extended a hand to us, and we both shook.

"So you must be the one with the boyfriend?" She questioned me. _How did she know?_  
Brian must have seen my confused expression, "These walls are thin," He explained and I blushed.

"Tell me about him," She said as she stepped away from Brian and towards us.

Yup. She's passed my expectations.

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	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you to everyone who's reviewed and placed this story on their Alert Story list. It means alot to me. You guys rock!**

**I've decided to dedicate this chapter to WolfGirl-Addie and Lunar Fire , just because their reviews have so much enthusiasm and they make me laugh **

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"What is _that_?"

Turning to my side, I examined the plate placed in front of the petite blonde next to me.

"Um….Mac and cheese gone bad?

"That cannot be Mac and Cheese…it looks like something a mud slide would leave behind," The blonde stuck her fork in the food, poking holes. "I can't eat this."

"Natalie, why don't you get _Paul_ to share some of his food with us?" The redhead in front of her asked. I could feel the blush rise to my cheeks, as I looked down.

"He probably wouldn't, he doesn't like sharing his food."

"Please, you know he'll share with you…heck he'd give you the whole plate if you asked," Sophia joined in. I looked around her head, and found Paul grinning at me from his table. Darn him and his super werewolf hearing. I smirked back at him, and my blush depended as he winked at me. I desperately wanted to be over there with him, but we both agreed that we would make time for our friends, neither of us wanted to be isolated away from them.

'See he's smiling!" The blonde twirled a strand of her platinum colored hair in her finger, as she looked at him. "He'll totally share." Something told me she didn't want the food, no, she wanted a reason to see Paul. I could see it in the way she looked at him, and this made my stomach turn in an uncomfortable direction.

"Call him over Nat," She pressured

"How about…no?"

"Do you want us to starve to death?" Yes, _I want you to starve to death…._

"Stephanie, seriously? If you want food that bad, go get back in the line,"

"I don't have the energy to stand in line all over again,"

Shut up! Could she get more obvious? I still don't understand how Sophia could be friends with her, when she had introduced me to Stephanie and Caitlin, I was expecting decent, friendly, sweet girls, not attention seeking, man hungry females, although Caitlin wasn't as bad as Steph. They remind me of Cinderella's evil step sisters.

"Steph, if Nat doesn't want to call Paul over, then leave it. He is her boyfriend." Sophia came to my rescue. I gave her a fortunate smile.

"Whatever…" Stephanie huffed, and opened up a magazine. She flipped through the pages, occasionally asking Caitlin her opinion on various outfits she saw. I chuckled when she started whining about a sweater she had come across that was out of her budget limit. The funny thing was, I had the exact sweater in my closet, a present from one of my moms many friends; I made a mental note to wear the sweater tomorrow, just to annoy Stephanie. If she wanted to devour my man with her eyes, then I would have to start pushing her buttons.

Before we knew it, the bell had rung, and we all stood to throw our trays away.

"I'm throwing a party this weekend," Steph announced as we walked out of the cafeteria. "You guys must come!"

"What's it for?" I asked

"It's for you!" She replied, a twinkle of excitement in her eyes.

"My birthday's not till March, but thanks anyways."

"No, you silly, it's so that you can meet everyone in town…it's like a "Welcome to Forks" party"

"That is such a great idea!" Agreed Sophia. She was supposed to defend me! "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because your too busy ogling Embry Call," Stephanie laughed.

"Whose ogling me?"

_Caught!_

Embry and Paul caught up with us along with Jake and Quil, their giant structures made them easy to spot in the crowded hallway, and as students started to make way for them, it was clear to see, they were feared.

"So whose been checking me out?" Embry asked again, once they reached us.

"Soph- Ouch!" I held back a giggle as I watched Sophia shoot Stephanie a dirty look. A kick in the shin always shut someone up.

Embry let out a laugh, he probably already knew the answer anyways. If not, the deep blush on Sophia's face would give him a pretty good clue. It was so obvious these two had feelings for each other; I don't know who they're trying to fool. The flirting, the sneaking glances, heck they were _almost_ as bad as Paul and I. Noone could outdo me and him, although it's only been 3 weeks into our relationship, we're closer than most couples I've known. If you were to tell me 2 years ago that I wound fall for a over tempered, jealous werewolf, I would have laughed in your face, but it's happened. His temper would take sometime to get used to, although his anger hasn't ever been directed at me, I'd rather have him happy. As for his jealousy…a jealous Paul is pretty hot.

Two very warm arms snaked around my waist, pulling me out of my thoughts, and I leaned into them, relaxing against the hard chest behind me.

"I missed you today" his mouth was against my ear, and at the sound of his husky voice, a shiver ran through my body. He chuckled, and I felt the vibrations. God, the effects this boy had on me.

"I missed you more," I whispered, his werewolf hearing picked it up, and he placed a peck on my head. This is where I wanted to always be. Not in a crowded hallway, huddled to the side; no, I wanted to always be in Paul's arms. Nowhere else have I felt so loved, so wanted, so secure. I don't know what I did to receive this man, but I was going to do everything in my power to make sure I never lost him.

"Hey Paul," Stephanie called; I forgot there were people around us, "are you the type to share?" I felt my insides boil, at the double meaning of her questions. Couldn't she find her own man?

"Not really," his arms tightened around me slightly, and I couldn't keep the grin off my face. Her face fell and her eyes narrowed as she glared at us. Although Paul and everyone else seemed oblivious to her, I was well aware of her intentions, and there was no way I was going down without a fight.

For the remainder of the week, Stephanie and I were all sugary smiles, and evil glares. On more than one occasion, I found her edging close to him, and trying to make a move before he or I put a stop to it. Finding myself in Paul's shoes, I now truly understood why he got so mad when jealousy took over him. Just the thought of Stephanie putting her hands on **my** Paul, was enough to blow steam through my ears. Seeing her actually trying it, made me shake with anger. To the boys, Embry, Jared, Collin, Jake and Quil, this was pure entertainment. In the words of Embry, "Two girls planning the other murder, and what for? Paul. This is classic." Of course, the minute the last word left his mouth, Paul's fist had collided with his face, ending the conversation.

_Wish I could do that to Stephanie_

"Paul, I don't wanna be here…why are we playing nice with the enemy?" I complained as Paul held my hand and led me towards a house blasting with music. People were everywhere, on the sidewalk, on the lawn, on the front porch. They all seemed uncontrollable and over ecstatic…a bit over ecstatic.

"Because, the enemy started the game. Anyways, I don't see the point of you fighting this little war with her, you know my heart belongs to you," His warm eyes gazed at me, and my breath caught in my throat. Only he had this effect on me.

"I know," I managed to whisper as we dodged a few drunken kids, and made our way towards the wide open front door. "I just want her to know that,"

I got no reply, as we stepped inside the house, and I stopped moving as I took in the scene before me. Bodies smashing on the dance floor, games of pool table in random areas, bottle after bottle of unknown substances being passed around, and couples doing things that surely made my face red. This was **not** where I wanted to be. Paul must have felt the same way because he gripped my hand tighter and turned around and led me out the door.

"Is this her way of embarrassing me? By associating that…" I pointed back at the house, "with me?"

"Forget her, forget all of them," he muttered as he opened the door for me to his truck. I watched as he made his way over as quickly as he could, without using his werewolf speed, and before I knew it, we had hit the road.

"Do have anywhere in particular you wanna go?" We were on a quiet road, almost empty, so he didn't feel the need to pay attention to his driving, instead he look at me, anticipating an answer.

"My place?" I suggested. Although I kept my family history, and occupation a secret, I knew Paul was suspicious. Sooner or later he was going to put two and two together, so why not just tell him tonight.

5 minutes later, we were parked in front of the house, and made our way in. Unfortunately for me, my mom had chosen tonight, of all night, to be home.

"Well, who do we have here?" she questioned as we stepped inside the house. She had been placing her shoes on and stopped to greet us. Her knee length black dress and trench coat signaled that she would soon be heading out. Thank you God, let's hope I can get through the introductions.

"Mom, this is Paul, my boyfriend," a stupid grin formed on my lips, "Paul, this is my mom"

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Walton," He extended his hand to my mom and she shook it gladly.

"The pleasure's all mine, it's nice to finally meet the young man that's kept Natalie here so busy." Leave it to my mother to embarrass me. My face went through several shades of red before it went back to its original color.  
"Mom!" I nearly shouted, but she paid no attention.

"My. You are quiet large for a high school boy. Have you been held back?" _Oh God._

"No," he laughed off my mom accusation. "It's probably because I eat so much."

"Hmm. Understandable." She turned to me. "I'm taking your aunt out tonight. I'll be back pretty late. She moved around us and walked out the door. "Your father is flying in tomorrow, so don't make any plans. We'll be having dinner with him." She called out before she disappeared into her car. Great, there goes my Sunday. Instead of getting to hang out in La Push like I had planned, I was going to be stuck at a dinner table while my parents talked about the usual topic; money.

"Your dad's coming back. You excited?" Paul questioned as he pulled me down on the couch next to him.

"Pfssh! No,"

He raised an eyebrow at me, "Why not?"

"Let's just say my parents have paid more attention to their jobs than they have to me." My heart ached slightly; as I said the words. "Sometimes I think I'm their daughter only by title. They've never looked at me twice, and I can't remember the last time I sat down and had a decent conversation with either of them." I could feel the emptiness, the part that should have been filled with my parent's love. I should have been used to this by now, I mean it's not like I have any memories with my parents. Neither of them taught me to walk, or how to ride a bike, or took me to first day of school. Instead, it had been nannies or whoever was hired to look after me. Yet, I couldn't help but think, what did I have to do to get my family to acknowledge me, to love me. Besides Sophia, no one had ever loved me, I mean truly loved me for who I am.

My vision became clouded as tears started to slowly fill my eyes. One by one, they began to fall, but they didn't make it far. A warm finger traced my cheek and rid my face of the tears, the same fingers cupped my face and I felt Paul's lips place a gentle, lingering kiss on mine. It ended before I could make anything of it, and I opened my eyes to look into Paul's pained expression.

"Sweet cheeks," The comforting fingers were now rubbing my cheek. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry; I wish I could take the pain away, to make your parents see what a smart, beautiful, caring, loving daughter they have. I wish I could open their eyes and make them truly look at the angel they've created. But I can't." His hands left my face and moved to my waist, pulling me into his lap, I didn't pay attention to this, instead I kept my eyes locked on his, and felt my heart melt at his words. I suddenly felt the need to be close to him, to be wrapped in his arms, and I did just that.

"I can promise you this though; I will always be here, I will always care for you. Noone or nothing can ever come between how I feel for you. Never forget that." His lips pressed into my head, as my heart swelled from his words. "You don't know how much you mean to me, how much your happiness means to me" He muttered as he stroked my back, comforting me.

At that moment, I made a promise to myself. I would do everything I could to make Paul happy, to make sure he stayed with me. I don't think I could cope if I lost him.

Little did I know, I would soon lose him, and in a way that I could have never imagined.

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	12. Chapter 12

**A.N: This week's dedication Lecia. You Rock Hun! **  


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"Brian, tell me again what you're studying in university?" My dad asked as he sipped his blood red wine. The rubescent tie dangling from his neck matched his drink, and the combination of the two gave his eyes an eerie tint of red. "I seem to have forgotten."

"Computer engineering" Brian replied, a small grin on his lips as he spoke. No doubt he was thinking about Andrea, she was all he ever spoke of these days.

"Wonderful. Natalie, have you put any thought into post-secondary?" My father turned on me, watching me spectrally with his eagle like eyes. Thank God I hadn't inherited his looks.

"No," I dug my fork into the cream and cheese pasta, hoping I looked occupied.

"This is your last year of high school; you better start thinking about it, young lady"

"I'll try." I was grouchy, not point in denying it…I hadn't planned on spending my Sunday night stuck at a table with my parents, thankfully, my cousins and aunt made it better. Where I really wanted to be, was in La Push, with Paul, but no one seemed to understand my yearning to be with him at all times.

"Donald, tell me, how is the company coming along?" Aunt Stacy asked, steering the conversation away from my education.

"Absolutely splendid, the revenues have been pouring in, and I'm having my advisers work on some new ads. Hopefully we can now start to target teenage audiences." My father leaned forward, prepping himself for a long talk. If there was anything he could chat about for hours about; it was the family company.

"I'm looking into opening a production factory here, and an office. I need to be around Tina and Natalie more" He smiled at mom, and placed a kiss on her cheek. Oh God, could they get more fake and embarrassing?

"That's actually a pretty good idea; you think I could work in your office one you've got one?" Brian pulled himself out of his daydream and was now hanging on to dad's every word. 'I could use the experience and money; it's kinda hard to get a job after graduating with no experience."

"I think that's a wonderful idea!" Dad said. "I'll keep you informed on what's going on."

Brian's smile couldn't get any wider, and I took this as my cue to start zoning out. Turning to the seat next to me, my spirits lifted when I saw Sophia was just as bored and miserable as I was.

"Wanna make a run for it?" I offered in a hushed whisper, "I don't think they'd have the energy to chase after us"

"Brian might" She chuckled. "And anyways, my mom would ground me once I'd returned home"

I nodded my head, agreeing with her.

"Where's Paul tonight? You should have invited him to join us." Sophia asked, as she reached for a salad.

"He's at work," Truth was, he was out patrolling. My heart squeezed in anxiety at the thought, What if something happened to him again? Laila _still_ hadn't learned to control herself, and if I had my way, Paul wouldn't be allowed near her until she did, but Sam was the boss, not me, and he thought Paul was ready to help tame her again.

"You'll see him tomorrow, don't stress about it," Sophia rubbed my arm, after seeing the anxious look on my face. If only she knew what I was worried about.

My dad was in town for the next three weeks, and between school, homework, hanging with Sophia, and keeping Stephanie off my man, I rarely saw him. But he made himself present for once, on this rare Monday morning. I trudged down the stairs, backpack in hand, and made my way to the kitchen, there sat my parents, sipping their coffee and reading the mail. In any other household this would be normal, but in mine, it signaled either trouble or celebration.

"Ahh Natalie, you're awake. Come, come, and sit down now." He patted the tall stool next to him, and I took a seat, dazed and confused.

"Eat your breakfast, nothing can be accomplished without energy, and you definitely need it." He took a plate of pancakes from my mom and pushed it in front of me. _Is he trying to poison me? _Very cautiously, I cut a part of the syrup drenched pancakes, and placed it in my mouth. Torturing my teeth, I chewed slowly, and breathed a sign of relief when I swallowed and remained whole. Feeling confident I wasn't going to choke from an unknown substance or whatnot, I eagerly fed on my breakfast, happily satisfying my stomach.

"Now, Natalie, you've been very patient and positive throughout this whole move here, so we've decided its time to reward you" My mom spoke up from behind the counter.

A reward for leaving the pressured life of Miami, and finding happiness in Fork? Bring it on.

"You didn't have to get me anything, I'm happy here" I said as my parents led the way out of the kitchen and the front door, and towards the parking space for the family cars. My mouth dropped open as I saw a third car parked in the usual empty slot. No…they didn't….or did they? My dad had stated months ago that he had bought me a car, but it was being customized and I wouldn't receive it until we were fully moved to Forks….could this be it?

I felt a hard, rough hand grab mine, and I looked to see my dad drop a car key into my hands. Yes! Almost instantly, my arms were around his neck, hugging him tightly, before doing the same to my mom. As soon as I was free from their grasp, I ran towards **my** new car.

I wasn't usually big on gifts, sure I received a lot but I never found use for most of them. This was different, this was as if someone had jumped into my mind, sketched a picture of my dream car, and brought it alive. Standing in front of the vehicle, I let my eyes devour the sight in before me.

A 2009 Lexus LS 600, these models aren't even out yet! It had a hard, glossed, black exterior with silver outlining. Running my hands along the top I realized, it was the same height as me. Paul wouldn't have a problem getting into this one. I opened the driver's door and stepped inside. Wow…a rich burgundy wood frame was set it around the radio, and as I relaxed into the body molded seat, I realized the cup holders in-between the front seats had the same wood design. The beauty was breathtaking, but the technology was eye-popping, aside from the heating and air conditioning system installed, I came across a climate control system, a hard drive GPS navigation system, a 19 speaker, 6 disc change audio system and two multi information displays. And to think, all this was mine!

I spent the next half hour memorizing every detail in my car; I named it Charmer, and I thanked my parents once more, before speeding for Sophia's house.

"Is this your dad's car?" she asked as she opened the passenger door, and stepped in.

"Nope, its mine" I said with a smile

"No way!" She squealed, and ran her fingers across the dashboard. "You might wanna slip in casually to your dad that I have my license, and I hate public transit,"

"You might have to wait a couple of months before a baby like this is parked in your driveway with a pink bow, it look a while for mine to be perfected."

"Heck, I don't care, as long as I get one" She laughed. She leaned back on the seat and relaxed as I sped down the road.

I took advantage of the situation, and decided to satisfy my curiosity. "So what's up with you and Embry?"

A small smile formed on her lips, "what do you mean?"

"Don't play like that, I've noticed the obvious flirting and chemistry between you two,"

She raised an eyebrow, "chemistry? No. Em and I are just friends"

"That's what they all say,"

"Seriously Nat, we're just friends. He doesn't see me that way."

_Yeah right. _"But do you see him that way?"

I grinned as she blushed.

"Ok, so what if I do? He's never going to return my feelings."

I turned the car into the school parking lot and fitted into a slot.

"You never know unless you try Soph. Maybe he's thinking the same thing you are."

We both stepped out of the car and walked towards the school. Left and right, students, mostly guys stood drooling over something behind me. Looking back, I realized they were in awe over Charmer, my beautiful car. I'd call them silly for being this caught up over a car, but then I'd be a hypocrite.

"So you really think Embry likes me?" Sophia asked as we approached our lockers.

I took my mind off my car, and snapped back into our conversation.

"Definitely, from what I see, he's ready to get down on his knees for you"

She giggled, and I praised myself for a good well done.

"I think we'd end up being the same height once he's on his knees." She laughed

"Your _not_ that short," I disagreed.

"No, but he is oversized. I wonder what he eats. I need some of that."

"Your not short…must I keep repeating that?"

"Keep saying it, I know the truth. You think I'd be aware of my own height"

I couldn't hold back the giggles that escaped my mouth, leave it to Sophia to be self conscious. Not being biased, but she was a gorgeous girl, she could easily be a model, she had the whole package, height included.

"Come here," I motioned her closer to me, then I put my head against her, but my forehead reached the crook of her nose.

"See, you're taller than me, and that's tall enough"

"Whatever you say Nat," She put her back against the locker, "how did we end up arguing about my height? I thought we were talking Embry," she let out a dreamy sigh at the mentioned of his name. Lovesick much?

"I don't know, we're easily distracted, haven't you noticed?" It was true, put me and Sophia together, and nothing would get accomplished. We would go from one topic to another; anything little thing could surely grasp our attention.

"Speaking of distractions, look whose here," I followed her eyes, and my heart gave a little jump as I saw Paul. His tall figure was striding towards us, hands in his pockets, backpack on his shoulder, along with Jared, Kim (Jared's girlfriend), Quil and Embry.

"Hello beautiful," he whispered in my ear, as he embraced me.

"Hey," I whispered back, managing to find my voice, it was difficult, since he usually left me breathless. I gave him a genuine smile, letting him know I was happy to see him.

"Your in a really good mood today, did your dad leave?" He asked, as he turned me around and wrapped his arms securely around my waist.

"No," I laughed. It surprised me how well Paul understood the situation with my parents, then again Paul seemed to understand everything about me

_Not everything, there's still a secret your keeping from him. _My conscious reminded me, but I pushed the thought back where it came from; to the back of my mind.

"No, but I got a new car!" I clapped my hands together, excitement evident in my eyes.

"So that black beauty outside is yours?" Embry questioned. I simply nodded. He stood, leaning slightly against a locker, and one of his arms casually wrapped around Sophia's waist. Talk about obvious.

"Damn, I want your parents!" Quil joked. _You can take them,_ Paul's arms tightened around me, he knew how Quil's words affected me.

"You wanna go for a ride later?" I offered as the bell rang. Jared and Kim walked off one direction, and Embry and Quil left to walk Sophia to class in the other.

"When?" He unraveled his arms from me, and instead reached for my hand, leading the way to my first class.

"How about after lunch?" I offered, biting my lip slightly, anticipating his answer.

"Are you suggesting we ditch class?" His grin was infectious. I nodded, and he pulled me closer to him.

"Is my innocent, naive Natalie planning to skip?"

"Hey, you either take it or leave it"

"I'm definitely taking it," he whispered before locking my lips with his, erasing any other thought but ones of him and his lips from my mind. Just as I was melting into smooth lips, he ended the kiss.

"I'll see you after class," he yelled over his shoulder, and jogged down the hall to class.

The morning passed by dreadfully slow, and by the time lunch rolled around, I was ready to jump out of my seat. At the sound of the bell, I sprinted out of my chair and got to the cafeteria in record time, yet no matter how quick I got there, the guys always seemed there before me.

"You look a little flushed, excited are we?" Paul teased as he thumb caressed my hot cheek.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" Ignoring his question, "we can get lunch elsewhere."

Agreeing with me, he nodded his head towards the guys and Sophia, before entwining our hands, and walking to my car. I noticed a gleam in his eye as we approached Charmer, he obviously was as infatuated with the car as much as I was, feeling the need to be a generous girlfriend, I took out my car keys and handed them to him.

"Your letting me drive?" He said, astonished. "I thought you wouldn't let anyone near it."

"Yeah, well you're not just anyone…" I answered, before standing on my tippy toes to give his lips a peck. "Now, c'mon, I'm hungry."

An immense smile overtook his face as he got into the drivers seat, and slipped the key into the ignition.

"I can't believe your letting me do this," He turned the car out of the school parking lot and onto the road. "Your amazing Nat," his eyes shifted from the road to flash me breathtaking smile.

We pulled up to a local fast food joint, and made our way in. The aroma of deep fried onion rings, and French fries filled my nostrils. Screw being healthy, I could afford to have a fast food meal once in a while. Paul tugged on my hand, and we went up to the counter to order. Behind the counter stood a teenage girl, about our age if not older, and her eyes lit up when she saw Paul.

"Hi Paul, long time no see" She placed a piece of gum in her mouth, and leaned over the counter, flaunting her "assets". How did she know Paul, and better yet, did she not see me standing there?

"Uh, hey Nikki didn't know you were still working here." Paul looked slightly uncomfortable. Was he hiding something?

"Yea, I still do. I've missed you Pauly," Pauly? Let me gag! "You haven't come by here in a while, what happened?"

"Been busy, um, can we order?" He looked towards me, and Nikki followed his gaze, frowning slightly when she saw my presence.

"Is this your cousin that everyone's talking about?" She asked, making an annoying popping sound with her gum.

"No, this is my girlfriend Natalie," I forced a smile, and her frown deepened.

"You wanna order or what?" She turned her attention back to Paul, ignoring me completely, not that I mind, I'm better off not talking to her anyways.

Paul placed his order, and then turned to me, waiting for me to give mine.

"Oh, I'll have a large Pepsi, cheeseburger, onion fries and a sundae." I said, and after debating with Paul on who should pay, (he ended up winning, and he paid), we stepped to the side, waiting for our food to be prepared.

"A girl who eats, now that's what I like." Paul said, as he stood against the side of the counter.

"Don't tell me your past girlfriends have been anorexic,"

"Naw, at least, I don't think so. But the majority of the girls around here worry about their weight too much, you'll never see them ordering what you just did."

I had to laugh at that. "Their trying to make themselves pretty for you and other guys" I teased.

"Sorry, but I like my girls with a bit of meat," I giggled as he poked my stomach, then he got serious.

"Promise me you won't stress about your weight or image or anything like that. You're so beautiful, just the way you are." The back of his hand stroked my face. My heart sprang, I felt lifted from his words, he really did know exactly what to say.

"I won't." I whispered, as he once again flashed me that breathtaking smile.

"Good, now let's eat," Retrieving our food, we settled for a booth near the back, and dug into our food.

"How do you know that Nikki chick?" I questioned when we left the restaurant.

"She used to go to our school, dropped out last year." He answered, his eyes glued to the road.

"She seems like she knows you really well, _Pauly_,"

A groan escaped his lips, "Please don't call me that. That nickname makes me cringe." I grinned as he faked a shudder. "No, we're not close, she was one of those girls who don't really don't understand the meaning of "Leave me alone", it was slightly creepy, she was convinced we were meant to be, and that I was forever hers. I nearly threw a party the day she dropped out"

I stared at him for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. I clutched my stomach, unable to stop. After a good minute, I grasped control of myself, and wiped the tears from my eyes.

"You have the worst luck," I said, trying to regain my breath,

"Tell me about it," he grumbled.

"Don't worry baby, your lucks gonna get better," I said as I reached over to pat his head.

"It already has," he whispered, as he grabbed my hand and placed a kiss on each finger.

No it hasn't, in fact, our luck changed for the worse...  


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**Reviews anyone?**

**P.S If any of you guys are writers on here, and have stories, recommend them to me! I would love to read them **


	13. Chapter 13

September passed, leaving a warm glow in my heart, and October whizzed by, leaving memories of laughter from Halloween…Paul and Jared felt the need to expand their imagination and dress up as werewolves. Now, that was an interesting sight.

However, November brought the beginning of a vicious wave of darkness in which I would soon become entwined in. But I wouldn't put it that way. No, the vicious wave was only the beginning…

It all began on a Wednesday. It was a bleak cloudy day but I didn't let that ruin my good mood. As soon as I got home, I ordered some pizza and sat on the couch with a carton of ice cream on my lap. I always thought of Wednesday as a day to relax and reflect on what had happened so far the past week. In fact, I had reason to laze around. I had 2 major lit. Tests on Friday and I had studied more than enough with Paul. I was amazed that we even got anything done since we were too busy fooling around. I blushed. Somehow whenever I was with Paul, I always felt better, no matter what mood I was in. I blushed again, this time a deeper shade of red. I set the ice cream carton down and rubbed my face vigorously. It seemed all my thoughts were centered around Paul nowadays. I crossed my arms across my chest and leaned back against the couch. I closed my eyes and forced myself to think of nothing at all. Almost instantly, there was knock on the door.

It was Quil.

I opened the door to reveal him inspecting the front yard. He turned around to face me, and yelled out, "Fancy place you got here!"

I frowned at the big grin on his face. "What are doing here Quil?" I asked, trying to contain my surprise. This was bad; this was very, very bad.

"I was in the neighborhood, thought I'd stop by," he answered. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

I stepped aside, letting his bulky form through the door.

His grin widened as he brought his attention to the inside of the massive house. "Your parents must be making some serious cash if they can afford a place like this. What do they do?" His eyes bore into me, waiting for my response. He knew. He had to; why else would he have that look in his eye.

"My dad's…um…an engineer."

"Engineer? That's funny, I remember Paul telling me your dad's into retailing. Isn't that what you told him?"  
Shit, I was caught in my own lies. Had Quil told Paul? I scanned through my memory, trying to find a specific moment when Paul had acted distinctively, but I came across none. I swallowed hard, my hands dropped to my sides.

"Natalie, I know what you're hiding from Paul," Quil spoke in a whisper, "you shouldn't be though."

I let out a deep breath as I failed to keep my heart beats under control.

"You don't understand," I gritted my teeth. "If Paul knows the truth of my family, he'll start thinking different of me."

To my utter surprise he laughed a low deep laugh that echoed through the front hall.

"You really have no idea how crazy Paul is about you. You could tell him you're a mass murderer and he wouldn't care." I felt my face heat up, but kept my gaze locked on him. "Just tell him already, I know he has a few secrets of his own to share with you."

My eyes widened as my breath caught in my throat. Paul had secrets? What did he feel the need to keep from me? I mean, he told me he was a werewolf; it couldn't get much worse than that.

"What are you talking about? What's Paul keeping from me?" I demanded.

All signs of teasing left his face and a mask of secrecy replaced it. "That's for Paul to tell you, not me."

I could feel my anger beginning to boil as my hands hardened into fists. "Dammit Quil! You can't just say something like that, and not tell me!"

"Like I said, that's for Paul to tell you, not me" How he kept his voice smooth, I don't know. He made a move back towards the door, and I jumped out of my state of shock. I pounced in front of the door, my arms spread wide, blocking his exit.

"You're not going anywhere until you explain yourself," I was surprised to hear my hostile voice.

"Do you really think you can stop me," his eyes traveled to his vigorous arms then to my limp yet rigid arms. I gulped. So threatening wasn't going to work. Plan B

"Please Quil; I'm going to find out anyway, so why not just tell me." I pleaded.

He was quiet for a moment before he spoke. "Have you wondered why Paul has introduced you to his family? Why he never speaks of them?"

My brows came together in confusion as I shook my head.

"Lets just say I'm not the only one who knows about your family," he stated. My eyes widened and he quickly spoke again. "I'm not saying she fully know, I'm just saying she has a slight clue."

"Who's she?" I asked, my voice involutedly rising.

"Paul's mom, of course."

"How can she know?" I left my position in front of the door and started pacing the narrow hall. "Paul never introduced me to her!"

"Look, this might not be about what you think it is," Quil's built arms grabbed my shoulders, stopping in my tracks, "talk to Paul," It wasn't a suggestion, it was a demand.

I sat on the couch, folding my legs up, deep in thought. After Quil had left, I debated on whether or not to call Paul, I still had no answer. The front door opened, and my parent's carefree voices echoed through the room. With their arms wrapped around each other, they stepped into the living room, blissfully unaware of me.

"Who won the lottery?" I muttered sarcastically, placing my chin on my knees.

"Your father's got some good news," my mother spoke, "He has purchased some land right here in Washington State,"

I sat, waiting. "So?"

They ignored my remark,

"Looks like I'll be expanding the company once more," my dad placed a kiss on mom, and I shut my eyes tight. "And I'll get to spend time with the people that matter." I opened my eyes to find him staring directly at my mom. Seeing the love radiating out of his eyes made my heart ache.

"I'm going out," I doubt they heard me, but I kept going. Grabbing my phone, keys and jacket, I rushed to my car, and soon found myself driving. I didn't know where to go, nor did I care.

Shifting the gear, I sped up, going way past my comfort zone. As soon as I found a clear endless road, my thoughts began.

Why would Paul feel the need to keep secrets from me? I mean, I understood that he wasn't close to his mother, and he had never in our few months together, had he mentioned his father. But couldn't he just tell me what the problem was? Heck, if I didn't mind the fact that he was a werewolf then I'm pretty sure nothing else could bother.

_Maybe it's not his secret._ The thought sprung to my head, but it made no sense. If it wasn't his secret, why would Quil mention it to me? Why would he want me to know? I gritted my teeth as anger and confusion filled me. Damn this situation. Why wasn't it possible for me to have a normal, happy relationship? Why did there have to be twists and turns? There was no way I would go on without answer.

I stepped on the brakes and pulled to a stop. Thank God this car was built for crazy drivers. I pulled to the side of the road and whipped out my phone. I stared at it for a good minute without making any actions. What should I say to him? It's not like I yell out, "tell me what your hiding." Would he be upset with me?

Only one way to find out.

I punched his number and anxiously waited as it rang. It was like it was taunting me, making me wait longer than I usually would.

"Natalie," His husky voice picked up, no doubt checking the caller id beforehand.

"Natalie? Baby?" Still I made no sound. My throat dry, and my mind blank.

"Natalie!" He yelled this time, and I snapped out of my haze. I took a deep breath before speaking.

"Paul. We need to talk."

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**I am so sorry I took forever to post this chapter. I've been a bit sick, and busy. But I'm back ^_^**

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**Ahhhh! 4 More days! I can hardly wait to see the movie!**

**Have any of you guys got your tickets yet?  
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